Jewish Leadership Academy
Miami
BEST PROJECT
Sent by: executioner
Owner: Gisela and Daniel Ades Foundation
Main design company: executioner
General contractor: Pirtle Construction Co.
Civil Engineer: Kimley-Horn
Structural Engineer: WSP
MEP Engineer: BR+A
Landscape architect: Witkin Hults + Partners
Project manager: Skyline Management Group
Jewish Leadership Academy, a new Modern Orthodox middle and high school in Miami, aims to combine academic rigor and Judaic studies with an emphasis on developing future leaders and giving back to the community. Early in the project’s development, before faculty or a full curriculum was established, Gensler’s design team was tasked with creating a cutting-edge campus that promoted diversity and a holistic student experience.
Beyond the architecture and interiors, Gensler also developed a visual identity and website that reflect the school’s mission and values. The resulting campus is a dynamic, purpose-driven space spanning five buildings, unified by a central courtyard. The campus includes all the traditional features of a school, as well as a music and recording studio, a manufacturing lab, an innovation lab, several science labs, two full indoor basketball courts, a practice soccer field outdoors, an outdoor basketball court, a track and two tennis courts.
Photo by James Ewing
A commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology to enhance learning experiences is central to the academy’s educational philosophy and guided design choices. The fabrication lab, for example, is equipped with 3D printers, laser cutters, vinyl cutters and CNC routers. The lab gives students the opportunity to turn conceptual designs into physical representations through experimentation and creativity.
All classrooms have four cameras, one to capture the teacher, one to capture the students and two to capture whatever is written on the classroom blackboards. In addition, the classrooms have two digital screens: one for the teacher to project digital resources to the students in the classroom and the other to project the image of students or guest teachers who are not physically present in the classroom.
Unique among Jewish schools, the academy houses two full-size kitchens, one dedicated to meat and the other to dairy. The student rooms have pianos to encourage social gatherings and artistic expression.
Photo by James Ewing
One of the first challenges for the team was the acquisition of sufficient land for an educational campus in a central urban location. After years of developing relationships with local residents, lots were gradually acquired. As a result, the design had to be adjusted several times to accommodate the addition of new terrain.
Both the land purchase and the initial design process were further hampered by the limitations of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel and face-to-face meetings.
The pandemic also presented challenges during the procurement stage, with ongoing supply chain disruptions, material shortages and shipping delays. Delaying the completion date was not an option for the new academy. In the summer of 2022, it was announced that the academy would open in the fall of 2023.
As of March 2023, a hundred students had given up places at their current schools to enroll in the Jewish Leadership Academy for the next academic year. By September 2023, the school was to be ready to open, regardless of supply chain disruptions and material shortages. Despite the challenges, the design and construction teams collaborated to find solutions and the academy opened its doors 18 months after shovels first broke ground.
