The Academy for Global Citizenship at the Cultivate Collective Campus
SMNG A Ltd. · Chicago, IL
Overview
Built on the former site of LeClaire Courts, the Academy for Global Citizenship (AGC) anchors Cultivate Collective's six-acre campus. This facility includes a Head Start learning center, community health clinic, urban farm, market, community hall, and teaching kitchens. The 71,000sf learning lab is the Midwest's first Phius- certified school and first to pursue Living Building Challenge full certification. Beyond its educational mission, AGC offers community amenities and supports planned mixed-income housing and retail development.
Built on the former site of LeClaire Courts, the Academy for Global Citizenship (AGC) is a new early childhood and K-8 charter school located at the Cultivate Collective Campus on Chicago’s southwest side. In addition to AGC, this multi-tenant, six-acre site is home to an early childhood Head Start center, a community health care center, a three- acre urban farm, community gardens, a neighborhood marketplace, six teaching kitchens, and a range of community wellness programs and amenities. The Academy for Global Citizenship aims to foster systematic change and holistic learning through the implementation of a replicable model for 21st century learning. The entire campus is designed as a learning laboratory, with the school itself embodying AGC's mission to provide an innovative and holistic environment for education. The building comprises open classroom concepts that support a communal learning model, collaborative learning labs, and outdoor learning spaces. This net-positive energy, Phius-certified building is set to be Chicago’s first Living Building Challenge-compliant facility. Notable sustainability features include a highly efficient building envelope, a geothermal loop that feeds a radiant heating and cooling system, a graywater capture and reuse system, and a future wind turbine. Net positive energy is achieved via 550 kW of roof and ground-mounted solar panels equipped with an energy storage battery for climate resiliency.
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