The new JA BizTown and Finance Park for Gwinnett County, 30 miles north of Atlanta, is strategically located inside the 2,000-student Berkmar/Central Gwinnett High School. The Junior Achievement Gwinnett Discovery Center serves 30,000 Gwinnett Country middle school students every year. Leveraging the JA Atlanta Discovery Center experience, RJTR was responsible for conceptual and design services for the facility. RJTR worked closely with the high school’s architect-of-record and provided design services for sponsor stores, branding and fit-up. Suwannee City Center inspired the design concept for JA Finance Park’s “city of tomorrow” creating a more modern city where these students will be working someday. Gwinnett’s Lawrenceville Historic Courthouse Square provided the JA BizTown central courtyard concept. Additional modern “store” building facades acknowledge Gwinnett’s expanding corporate technology company community.
Junior Achievement's Chick-fil-A Foundation Discovery Center features two simulated environments: JA BizTown and JA Finance Park, along with a theater, a pre-function/reception area, meeting rooms, and offices. The JA BizTown program focuses on business-to-business commerce, where sixth-grade students attend work for the day. Upon arrival to the JA Discovery Center, the children ride the "Green Line" subway train to work at their assigned "store." Each sponsored store is led by a team of students that includes a CEO, a CFO, and support staff. Throughout the simulation, students learn how businesses operate on a daily basis, such as paying operating costs and working with other businesses within the city.
AWARDS
Winner: American Society of Interior Designers: 2016 Georgia Chapter Design Excellence Award – Bronze Award
2021 American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Georgia Design Excellence Bronze Award
Winner: Urban Land Institute - Atlanta: 2015 Jury's Award
Winner: 2015 American Society of Interior Designers: Georgia Design Excellence Award – Institutional – Gold Award (Dalton, GA)
Winner: 2022 American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Georgia Design Excellence Bronze Award (Savannah, GA)
Organized around the Mayor’s podium in a courtyard mimicking Centennial Olympic Park, JA BizTown embodies present-day Downtown Atlanta through the use of traditional materials and design. JA Finance Park is best described as a 3-D version of the board game "LIFE." Eighth-grade students are assigned a life scenario and progress through 18 steps of developing a budget and experiencing the responsibilities and challenges of adulthood.
"Inspired by the development and growth of Midtown Atlanta, JA Finance Park represents the “City of Tomorrow” and showcases modern materials and energetic spaces. "