Curated by Delaney Harris-Finch and Anna Mod, “Uncommon Modern” presented photographs of more than 100 overlooked pieces of Houston’s modern architectural history. While the Bayou City is home to monuments of modernism by architects like Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson, none of their projects were included in the exhibition. Instead, the show highlighted churches, doughnut shops, and office parks, showcasing the little-known, everyday artifacts of another era. The exhibit captured the city with fresh eyes and underlined the possibility that buildings considered ordinary might actually be extraordinary and hiding in plain sight. Uncommon Modern ran from November 24, 2015, to February 12 at Architecture Center Houston. The exhibition catalog from AIA Houston is available at aiahouston.org.

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