State of the art

GEMS Education, founded in the UAE in 1959, educates 170,000 students from over 176 countries across their global network of schools. When they approached Kampus to design their most ambitious project yet – the School of Research and Innovation – the brief was clear: create an environment that redefines traditional education through personalised, future-focused learning.

Designed for Belonging

The school needed to nurture creativity, critical thinking and adaptability whilst integrating life skills, cutting-edge technology and sustainable practices. Above all, it required spaces that would engender a sense of belonging and provide environments for personal growth and research-based learning.

Experience strategies

We applied our experience strategy process with the school’s leadership team and learners to define the characteristics that would make this school unique.

Our research examined competitors to ensure differentiation and explored the relationship between design for neurodiversity, well-being and belonging.

The strategy addressed GEMS Education’s core values – empathy, integrity and fortitude – alongside the school’s “character” as Optimistic, Open, Advanced and Ingenious. This collaborative approach identified opportunities for spaces that connect internal and external experiences, provide meaningful transitions from classrooms to breakout areas, and support inclusive learning through both one-on-one teaching and small-group work.

Adaptable progressive

The resulting design strategy guided the development of 35 key spaces across the campus. Each space was designed to be adaptable and progressive, encouraging risk-taking at all ages and nurturing innovation through flexible learning environments. The design creates versatile spaces that accommodate diverse learning styles and teaching methods whilst maintaining a visual identity that is distinctive yet recognisably educational.

We believe this represents a significant step forward in what the school experience can be – where architecture supports the school’s mission to prepare students for the challenges of the 21st century through environments designed specifically for how young people learn, grow and thrive. Crucially, students can achieve these sensations of belonging, creativity and innovation because they can tell the school has been designed for them.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Data

Client: GEMS Education
Size: K-12 1800 learners 
Skills: Experience Strategy, Interior Design, Landscape Design 
Status: Opened September 2025