Within the green open spaces of Grace Farms in New Canaan, Connecticut stands the new arts and community center, the River, which finally opened its doors to the public today. The Grace Farms Foundation selected SANAA to design the building in 2010, not long before Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa won the Pritzker Prize that year. SANAA first revealed their design in 2012.
The new 83,000-square foot structure consists of transparent-walled multi-functional volumes and covered walkways that wind down the park's rolling terrain, hence its River name. Its milky exterior complements the nearby woodlands and meadows at Grace Farms, while the clear glass walls show off the surrounding community gardens, athletic fields, and trails that SANAA designed in collaboration with OLIN. Fifty-five 500-foot-deep geothermal walls heat and cool the building.
The River's scheme boasts a 20,900 sq.ft. indoor amphitheater; a staffed library; a Commons dining and living room that can accommodate up to 300 people; a cozier 950 sq.ft. Pavilion; and a 16,900 sq.ft. gymnasium/multi-use court for recreational activities, performances, and other public functions. Trees had to be cleared at the River's construction site, but they were milled on site and used to construct the building's interior furniture.
The two-day weekend celebration kicks off this evening with a packed itinerary of events. That includes a conversation with Sejima and Nishizawa, live music and dance performances, art installations, and various opportunities for visitors to explore Grace Farms' 80-acre landscape. Grace Farms is planning a playground, which SANAA will also design, for spring 2016.
"We invite people to shape their own personal experiences at Grace Farms..." said Sharon Prince, president of Grace Farms Foundation, in a statement. "The possibilities are as open as the landscape itself."
Previously on Archinect:
SANAA's Grace Farms River project to open in fall 2015
SANAA Unveils Design for First U.S. Building Since Pritzker Win
15 Comments
Very cool. Love how the building just is ....
Beautiful.
And... we can walk on that beautiful roof, right?
Whats with all the meandering & stacking?
Very nice project
a wonderful piece of parametricism ... no other style can deliver this level of adaptive affiliation to the topography
No surprise that Patrik would get a boner over some amoebic white curves of energy deficient design that clearly demonstrates the absurdity of LEED. Funny how he continues to confuse style with substance.
Time to start taxes religious groups. Heavily.
Of course Miles doesn't like this. Of course.
LEED has its place, but judging Sejima by it is not one of the things it is traditionally useful for.
any style could deliver this level of adaptive affiliation to the topography.
"no other style..."
Should I refer you to a history book?
Machu Picchu, Alahambra, etc...
this article by Alexandra Lange in dezeen is a pretty good critique of the building, if you really need a reason to dislike this beautiful project.
Not that Alexandra hates it, she simply questions the role of community that the owners say is intended (her implication is that its not for the community at all). A rather good critique that might never be tested.
very nice building. where do I find client's like these?
Peeked at the Lnge, Didnt see any critique of the building in it. Not really sure i want to start picking on church-ish organizations who hire architects (not until the spigot gets shut off anyway).
where's the parking?
where do I find client's like these?
Jonestown.
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