The facade of the Storefront for Art and Architecture, completed in 2003 by Vito Acconci and Steven Holl, is still one of the most exciting built projects in New York. Today, Acconci was announced as Designer of the Year by organizers of the Design Miami fair – as you can read in my profile of him on the Daily Beast. Ever since 1988, when he quit performance art for design, Acconci’s central strategy has been to confuse inside and outside, top and bottom. That is, he wants to mess with the most basic architectural coordinates. The Storefront may be the best example of him doing just that.
