HMFH Architects

HMFH was invited to participate in a design competition for a unique new Hebrew academy to be built in Greensboro, NC, on a rolling, wooded 100-acre site that includes two ravines and slopes gradually toward a small lake.

The client requested a vision for a new campus that will accommodate 800 boarding students in grades 9-12 in a traditional school setting and that will provide a rigorous academic program within a distinctively Jewish residential setting. The client’s program anticipates full build-out of the campus in several phases over 10-20 years.

Drawing on elements of traditional prep school campus plans, HMFH organized the campus on two axes and placed the Bet Knesset, a flexible synagogue space in the main Schoolhouse building at the center. A Great Lawn, enclosed by academic buildings, welcomes visitors to the campus, while beyond the Schoolhouse lies the Great Quad.

The phased implementation, which begins with the Bet Knesset, and basic essentials of student life, is conceived to embody the major principles of the American Hebrew Academy from the very first stage, giving form to the overall sense of the campus long before it is fully realized.