The Grace Farms Foundation, a New Canaan, Connecticut-based non-profit with a multifarious mission focused on faith, justice, and community, has announced that it will officially open its new complex on October 9. Now nearing completion on the group’s 75 acres of former farmland is an 86,000-square-foot building designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese firm SANAA. Dubbed “the river” because it consists of a 1,400-foot-long pergola that meanders through the rolling terrain, the glass, wood, and steel structure incorporates pod-like volumes that house a dining room, an indoor amphitheater, and a gymnasium, under what is essentially a single roof.

The foundation will operate much like a nature preserve and retreat, hosting events such as film screenings, book signings, and symposia. The surrounding landscape, designed by Philadelphia-based OLIN in collaboration with SANAA, will feature publicly accessible walking trails, picnic areas, and site-specific artwork, including a sound installation by Susan Philipsz and a light-based piece by Olafur Eliasson.