In "Never Modern," Irenee Scalbert explores the role of narrative, history, and appropriation in the works of the London-based firm 6a Architects, whose recent projects include the South London Gallery, Raven Row, and the new fashion galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Scalbert examines the unique approach of the members of 6a, wherein they avoid style and signature in favor of what Scalbert calls a premodern sense of "metis," or "flair, wisdom, forethought, subtlety of mind, deception, resourcefulness, vigilance, opportunism, varied skills, and experience." Scalbert's analysis is...