Michigan Modern: An Architectural Legacy by Brian D. Conway with photographs by James Haefner
Visual Profile Books, 2018
Hardcover, 300 pages

[Eero Saarinen's General Motors Technical Center (1956) graces the cover.]

When thinking "modern architecture" what places come to mind" In the United States, at least, it's probably the Chicago Loop's commercial architecture, or Southern California's residential architecture, or even Columbus, Indiana's surprising density of modern architecture of all types. But Michigan" Most likely that doesn't bubble to the top. Yet even a cursory glance at this lovely coffee table book of 34 buildings in Michigan from the late 1920s to earlier this decade reveals that is a huge oversight. The state -- or at least concentrated portions of its southern half -- is crammed with some amazing modern architecture.
[Frank Lloyd Wright's Dorothy Turkel House (1957) is one of the book's many highlights.]

Michigan Modern is the joint creation of Brian D. Conway, of Michigan's State Historic Preservation Office, and photographer James Haefner. The duo has documented each project with, respectively, descriptions on the history and design of the buildings and photographs of both exteriors and interiors. Conway's descriptions are heavy on history, both of the personalities behind the buildings and the situations of each project. In turn, Haefner's photos do a lot of the work in conveying the character and quality of each building,...