2014/2015 MCHAP Awards

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On June 23, 2016 Grace Farms by SANAA was one of seven finalists nominated for the MCHAP, a biennial award named for Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a pioneer of the modern architecture movement and former dean of IIT School of Architecture.

On June 26, Grace Farms Foundation President Sharon Prince and SANAA Principal Architect Kazuyo Sejima welcomed the MCHAP jury in New Canaan to tour the River building, renovated barns, and preserved 80-acre landscape.

Sharon Prince with the MCHAP jury in the Sanctuary at Grace Farms. The jury visited seven projects in 10 days, spanning North and South America.

Sharon Prince and Kazuyo Sejima shared insights into their collaborative relationship during a workshop with students and faculty. Students prepared questions and a model of Grace Farms.

Sharon Prince and Kazuyo Sejima co-presented their vision for openness in architecture during a roundtable with the MCHAP finalists, attended by IIT College of Architecture students.

Each finalist offered an additional presentation to the larger public during the MCHAP Award Dinner on October 19, 2016. Honorary Chairs of the MCHAP include Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, CEO of the KOHLER Company David Kohler, and renowned architect Phyllis Lambert.

The S.R. Crown Hall, one of the many Illinois Institute of Technology buildings designed by architect Mies van der Rohe, was transformed for a formal dinner for Chicago MCHAP supporters. MCHAP is part of a larger community whose project includes the collective work of the IIT School of Architecture and city of Chicago.

IIT School of Architecture Dean Wiel Arets founded the MCHAP, “the Americas Prize,” to highlight the relationship of architecture in North and South America and holistic approaches to the built environment.

MCHAP Director Dirk Denison during the Awards Dinner, emphasizing that all finalists projects shared a sense of “nowness” and place, with a distinct effort to integrate with nature. Grace Farms was awarded the 2014/2015 Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize; 244 projects were nominated. View the finalists here.

“Among a strong group of projects Grace Farms emerged as a clear winner for the clarity and consistency of its architectural solution…. the Grace Farms project uniquely demonstrates architecture’s capacity to make a place for an innovative new institution.” –Stan Allen, MCHAP Jury President

Kazuyo Sejima accepted the award on behalf of SANAA Principal Architect Ryue Nishizawa, their firm, and the project team. The prize includes a research and a publication grant as well as a position as MCHAP Chair at IIT for the following year.

Thank you to the distinguished MCHAP Jury.

Sharon Prince and Kazuyo Sejima celebrated with a champagne toast and raised their glasses to the many talented collaborators who helped build Grace Farms.

Thanks to the visionary and talented Grace Farms project team.

Nishizawa arrived just in time for an outing to the Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois, designed by Mies van der Rohe!