This summer, some lucky vacationers in New York will have an incredibly rare opportunity: the chance to stay overnight in a “livable sculpture” by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. The artist and architect’s one and only building in the United States will be available for rent between June 4th and September 7th, and it’s on the market for sale, too.

The Tsai Residence is set on 37 rolling acres in the rural community of Ancram, New York, about two hours north of Manhattan. Weiwei designed the Catskills vacation home for a Chinese-American businessman and art collector in collaboration with Switzerland’s HFF Architects in 2006. The compound includes a 3,500-square-foot, three-bedroom main house consisting of four blocky connecting modules and an adjacent Y-shaped guest house with a dramatic rust-colored Corten steel facade. The main house is clad in white metal panels, looking quite outside the norm for rural architecture from the outside, but taking inspiration from the layout of traditional country houses for its interiors. The design is simple and minimalist, pairing expansive white walls with warm wood tones and gray stone. These volumes exude a quiet elegance, with narrow cutouts, large glass windows, and a terrace creating a connection to the hilly setting.

The guest house, in contrast, is eye-catching and dramatic. Designed three years after the main home, it features two symmetrical wings lined in knotty timber and a large round skylight. With...