The Grace Farms Foundation was created in 2009 to "support initiatives in the arts, justice, community and faith." It is located in an area of 32 hectares near the city of New Kaneen, which also houses the Grace Community Church. The very name of the fund can be translated as "Grace farm".
The main building of the foundation is the multifunctional River building, designed by SANAA. In essence, it is a ribbon curving in a hilly landscape of a graceful base and roof, supported by slender supports. The total length of the building is almost 430 m. Several glazed volumes with one or another functional content are built into it.
Among them are the "sanctuary" (an auditorium or prayer hall for 700 people), a "library" (a library with books on the foundation's activities and architecture, a meeting room and offices), a "common space" (a dining room and a living room for 300 people; dining 5.5 m long tables are made of trees that grew on the site of the River), pavilion (information center where you can also have tea or listen to a chamber concert), courtyard / court (gym and multifunctional space with media laboratory and games room, placed slightly below ground level).
The ceilings are made of laminated timber beams, the roof is sheathed on top with anodized aluminum sheets. The floors are covered with gravel outside, in the interior - with concrete to match it, except for the floors in the library and offices (red oak), gym (maple), living room (gray brick).
Heating and cooling of the premises is provided by 55 geothermal wells with a depth of more than 150 m each.
In addition to the River building, the complex includes a renovated SANAA barn. Its western part will be occupied by a visitor center and an educational sector with classes, art and rehearsal studios, and a lecture hall. The Church of the Community of Grace will be located in the eastern half.
The bulk of Grace Farms (77 of 80 acres) is a natural environment of forests, grasslands and wetlands, complemented by SANAA and OLIN landscaping. Community gardens, sports fields and trails have appeared there. A playground designed by SANAA will be erected there in 2016. At the same time, the former agricultural lands will gradually be returned to nature under the leadership of Larry Weaner Landscape. The project budget was $ 67 million.
