The River by SANAA finalist in the MCHAP 2014/2015

Located in a natural environment in New Canaan, Connecticut, the project starts on a low hill and gently goes down from it, undulating and adapting to a change of level of 12 meters. Along its route, the River generates covered spaces, patios and closed volumes that host multiple internal uses and forms a set where nature can be lived.

Outside view of the River for Grace farms by SANAA. Photograph © Montse Zamorano.

Grace Farms Foundation chose SANAA for this project, shortly before the announcement of the Pritzker Prize, because their vision of architecture is very close to the purposes of the foundation. The River has been built on a property of 32 hectares belonging to Grace Farms and it is one of the finalist projects in the MCHAP 2014/2015.

In their quest for the preservation of the environment, dealing with the landscape has been very important. Some 30 of the 32 hectares of Grace Farm will be dedicated in perpetuity to open meadows, forests, wetlands and lagoons. SANAA's project includes a series of trails that traverse the area. In addition, all the trees that were felled in the for the construction of the building, were used to produce the furniture inside it, including tables of more than 6 meters long. Considering sustainability in the acclimatization of the building, fifty five geothermal wells 180 meters deep have been excavated. Furthermore seventy percent of intervened areas will be converted to natural grasslands by Larry Weaner Landscape Associates.

Description of the project by SANAA

SANAA believes that one of the most interesting and enticing aspects of this project is an opportunity to foster a sense of community and place. We are eager to create a place that invites people from all walks of life into a space of comfort. We wish to open the boundaries between interior and exterior because the site and nature facilitate an understanding of an individual’s place in the cosmos. It can be at once majestic with gardens, and long views, while at the same time very personal with shelter and places for meditation.

We designed a long roof following the topography, which floats on the site centrally. Winding and crossing the site freely, this structure creates many covered buffer spaces across the expansive property while also forming courtyards. Interior programs are organized and wrapped into glass volumes according to their character and usage under the roof. These glass volumes are, at times, located close to one another while others are further apart, creating different views and atmospheres. For example, from one room, one may see the large lake in the distance and from another, one can overlook the wetland which stretches into the landscape below. This singular roof also gives way to a variety of ambience such as a lively room facing a lively courtyard, and a calm space with sunlight trickling through the foliage of the trees.

With the rich property and natural environment, we hope to make the architecture become part of the landscape without feeling strongly like a building. We hope that visitors will enjoy the beautiful and changing seasons through the spaces and experience created by the facility.

Read less

Inside view of the River for Grace farms by SANAA. Photograph © Montse Zamorano.

Site plan of the River for Grace farms by SANAA.

General floorplan of the River for Grace farms by SANAA.

Transversal section of the River for Grace farms by SANAA.

General elevation of the River for Grace farms by SANAA.

Constructive section of the River for Grace farms by SANAA.

SANAA Grace Farms models. Photography © Thomas Demand, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, /ARS, New York. Courtesy of Matthew Marks Gallery.

SANAA's meandering river building at Grace Farms. Photography © Dean Kaufman.

View from the River for Grace farms by SANAA. Photograph © Dean Kaufman のコピー. Image courtesy of MCHAP.

Inside view of the River for Grace farms by SANAA. Photograph © Iwan Baan のコピー. Image courtesy of MCHAP.

SANAA's meandering river building at Grace Farms. Photography © Iwan Baan のコピー. Image courtesy of MCHAP.

SANAA's meandering river building at Grace Farms. Photography © Iwan Baan. Image courtesy of MCHAP.

View more images

Metalocus recommends

«Paredes Pedrosa» National Architecture Award 2023

Casa Fundamentos por Holger Cuadrado. Fotografía por Bicubik

Productive housing. Home Basics by Holger Cuadrado

ACAP house by Alventosa Morell Arquitectes. Photograph by Adrià Goula

Territorial and family roots. ACAP House by Alventosa Morell Arquitectes

More information

KAZUYO SEJIMA & RYUE NISHIZAWA. SANAA

Kazuyo Sejima (Ibaraki, Japan, 1956) and Ryue Nishizawa (Kanagawa, Japan, 1966) worked independently from each other before founding the SANAA Ltd. studio in 1995. Having studied architecture at the Japan Women’s University, Sejima went on to work for the renowned architect Toyo Ito. She set up her own studio in 1987 and in 1992 was proclaimed Young Architect of the Year in Japan. Nishizawa studied architecture at the Yokohama National University. In addition to his work with Sejima, he has had his own practice since 1997.

The studio has built several extraordinarily successful commercial and institutional buildings, civic centres, homes and museums both in Japan and elsewhere. These include the O Museum in Nagano (1999) and the N Museum in Wakayama (1997), the Day-Care Center in Yokohama (2000), the Prada Beauty Store in Tokyo and Hong Kong (2001), the Issey Miyake and Christian Dior Building in Tokyo (2003) and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa (2004). Sejima also designed the famous Small House in Tokyo (2000), the Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion, Toledo, Ohio (2001-2006), the extension to the Institut Valencia d’Art Modern, Valencia, Spain (2002 – ), the Zollverein School, Essen, Germany (2003-2006), the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York (2003-2007) and the Novartis Campus WSJ-157 Office Building, Basle, Switzerland (2003 – ).

In 2004 Sejima and Nishizawa were awarded the Golden Lion at the 9th Venice Architecture Biennale for their distinguished work on the Metamorph exhibition.

Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa have won the 2010 Pritzker Prize.

The 12th International Architecture Exhibition, was directed by Kazuyo Sejima, the first woman to direct the venice architecture biennale, since its inception in 1980.