Art World
The Only Home Ai Weiwei Ever Designed in the US Just Sold for a Whopping $4.9 Million in Upstate New York—See Images Here
The house was previously owned by investor Christopher Tsai.
Sarah Cascone
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An upstate New York home designed by Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei has sold for $4.9 million. Designed with Swiss firm HHF Architects in 2006, the property is located in the town of Ancram, about two hours north of New York City.
The house has been on the market since 2019 with a listing price of $5.25 million. It previously sold in 2013 for $4.25 million. News of the recent sale was first reported on Twitter by Katya Kazakina.
The investor Christopher Tsai commissioned the house, which is known as the Tsai Residence. (For $4.9 million, however, the new owner can probably change the name.)
But even at its hefty price tag, this piece of real estate still doesn’t match Ai’s top price at auction. That would be £3.44 million ($5.42 million) for his Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads, set in 2015 at Phillips London, according to the Artnet Price Database.
The Tsai Residence, designed by Ai Weiwei and HHF Architects. Photo by Michael Bowman Photography.
The artist previously helped Swiss firm Herzog and de Meuron design the “Bird’s Nest” stadium for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The Tsai Residence is a 2,800-square-foot building with four adjacent cube-shaped structures connected along a hallway. Finished with corrugated iron panels, the home has an industrial appearance, reminiscent of an agricultural shed, nestled on the bucolic 37.5-acre property. The real estate agent praised it in its listing as “livable art.”
The home—the only private property designed by Ai in the U.S.—has three bedrooms and bathrooms, two living rooms, and three fireplaces, as well as an outdoor lap pool. The original architects added a guest house with an office, two bedrooms, and an art gallery in 2009. The Cor-ten steel-paneled building won an American Architecture Award in 2013.
See more photos of the Tsai Residence below.
The living room at the Tsai Residence, designed by Ai Weiwei and HHF Architects. Photo by Michael Bowman Photography.
The office at the Tsai Residence, designed by Ai Weiwei and HHF Architects. Photo by Michael Bowman Photography.
The Tsai Residence guest house, designed by Ai Weiwei and HHF Architects. Photo by Michael Bowman Photography.
The pool at the Tsai Residence, designed by Ai Weiwei and HHF Architects. Photo by Michael Bowman Photography.
The foyer at the Tsai Residence, designed by Ai Weiwei and HHF Architects. Photo by Michael Bowman Photography.
The guest house at the Tsai Residence, designed by Ai Weiwei and HHF Architects. Photo by Michael Bowman Photography.
The guest house at the Tsai Residence, designed by Ai Weiwei and HHF Architects. Photo by Michael Bowman Photography.
The master bathroom at the Tsai Residence, designed by Ai Weiwei and HHF Architects. Photo by Michael Bowman Photography.
A bedroom at the Tsai Residence, designed by Ai Weiwei and HHF Architects. Photo by Michael Bowman Photography.
The kitchen at the Tsai Residence, designed by Ai Weiwei and HHF Architects. Photo by Michael Bowman Photography.
The Tsai Residence, designed by Ai Weiwei and HHF Architects. Photo by Michael Bowman Photography.
The Tsai Residence, designed by Ai Weiwei and HHF Architects. Photo by Iwan Baan.
The Tsai Residence, designed by Ai Weiwei and HHF Architects. Photo by Iwan Baan.
The Tsai Residence, designed by Ai Weiwei and HHF Architects. Photo by Iwan Baan.
The Tsai Residence guest house, designed by Ai Weiwei and HHF Architects. Photo by Iwan Baan.
The Tsai Residence guest house, designed by Ai Weiwei and HHF Architects. Photo by Iwan Baan.
The Tsai Residence guest house, designed by Ai Weiwei and HHF Architects. Photo by Iwan Baan.
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