NEW YORK—The Lower East Side's Storefront for Art and Architecture has commissioned a restoration of its ailing facade, a 1993 design by architect Steven Holl and artist Vito Acconci, the New York Times reports. The design, which consists of a concrete board facade with 10 pivoting panels that curators have variously used as doors, windows, seating, and shelves, demonstrates Holl's concept of porosity — the use of walls, floors, and ceilings as permeable membranes.

Costing $40,000, it was originally intended as a temporary installation, with the Storefront's board planning to commission a new facade every two years. "That would have been nice," said Acconci. "But it isn't reality. You would need to raise new money every time."

The $180,000 remake will be faithful to the original, although Supra-Board, the original material, is no longer available. The redesign will also include wheelchair access, a new feature.

Some members of the board expressed concern that by keeping the facade, the Storefront is institutionalizing its past rather than innovating. Ultimately, said Belmont Freeman, the board's president until this year, members recognized the importance of the preservation project, "...though it does feel, in a strange way, middle-aged."