Wanmu Shazi Repurposes Cement Silos Into a Stunning Teahouse, and Other News

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Wanmu Shazi repurposes cement silos into a studio, teahouse, and gallery in China. 

While on a scouting mission to find a location for his new studio, designer Wanmu Shazi fell in love with a prodigious, ramshackle cement factory in Xiamen on China’s southeastern coast. Composed of six industrial silos, and surrounded by bucolic farmland and rolling verdant hills, Shazi transformed the complex into Buduo Teahouse, an atelier, a meditation center, an exhibition hall, and Shazi’s home. The hulking cylindrical structures foster a dramatic backdrop for the various venues such as the teahouse, where visiting artists and designers gather beneath a soaring oculus, and the skylight-topped foyer punctuated by a solitary tree that pays tribute to ‘Qi’, a Chinese principle loosely defined as ‘vital life force.’   

A portrait painter helped police arrest the suspect of the Brooklyn subway shooter.

“New York portrait painter Lee Vasu helped spot the alleged subway shooter who opened fire on a crowded N train in Brooklyn on Tuesday morning, injuring 23 people, in the East Village today, April 13, leading to his arrest. Vasu spent a long time studying the man’s face after a photograph was published on CNN’s website. … Vasu said that being an artist helped him identify the suspect.” —[H/T Artnet News]

Adidas and Allbirds are joining forces to create their most sustainable sneaker yet.

“As Adidas and Allbirds continue to venture into their at-first confusing collaboration, the two are bringing out four more versions of their sustainable Futurecraft.Footprint, a sneaker with the lowest carbon footprint ever achieved for both brands. The Adizero x Allbirds joint Futurecraft.Footprint sneaker is the first performance model from Adidas and Allbirds to go below 3 kilograms of CO2e, (carbon dioxide equivalent) coming in at 2.94 kilograms CO2e. It’s also created with 63 percent fewer emissions during its production compared to the 7.86 kilograms CO2e of the Adizero RC3.” —[H/T Input]

An MVRDV-designed arboretum hosts a once-in-a-decade horticultural show in Almere.

“The horticultural exhibition Floriade Expo 2022 opened to the public on the site of MVRDV’s arboretum master plan in Almere. The concept features an alphabetical library of trees and plants arranged into lots on a rigorous grid across the 60-hectare site. The master plan was conceived as a framework for the Expo, and as a blueprint for a sustainable city district, given that the park will be transformed into a new residential area after the event. Held every ten years and running for six months, the Expo showcases the latest innovations in the field, from nature-inclusive agriculture to a sustainable pilot home made from 93 percent recycled plastic.” —[H/T ArchDaily]

Kerry James Marshall is auctioning a painting to help support a genomics institute.

“Kerry James Marshall’s Beauty Examined will appear at auction for the first time in May at Sotheby’s New York, with an estimated value between US$8 million and US$12 million. Painted in 1993, the same year Marshall, 66, had his debut solo exhibition at Jack Shainman Gallery in New York, Beauty Examined draws on a range of art historical and cultural influences, combining text, imagery, and motifs on a large-scale canvas. Proceeds from the sale of Beauty Examined will benefit the Institute for Genetics and Translational Genomics at the university, Sotheby’s said.” —[H/T Barrons]

Ella Fontanals-Cisneros and Ars Electronica launch a prize for Latin American artists.

“The Miami-based Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO) has partnered with one of Europe’s most storied art-and-technology festivals, Ars Electronica, to create a new grant program that will support Latin American artists working with technology. The CIFO-Ars Electronica Awards will come with up to $30,000 per artist. They support the commissioning of new major works that will enter CIFO’s collection and be presented at Ars Electonrica’s annual festival in Linz, Austria. The inaugural five recipients are Amor Muñoz, Dora Bartilotti, Thessia Machado, and Ana Elena Tejera, and the artist collective Electrobiota Collective.” —[H/T ARTnews]

Today’s attractive distractions:

Marynn Letemplier’s stunningly detailed drawings are all done using pencil.

The Photographers’ Gallery dives into how images help make albums iconic.

Here’s a practical guide on how to deal with your relaxation-induced anxiety. 

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