Ian Nairn : Words in Place

Ian Nairn taught a generation to look, and another to write. Nairn as he was usually referred to lit up the pages of the architectural press, broadsheets and TV screens with his incandescent reports on the uglification of Britain. He warned of the spread of anonymous, soulless development he called Subtopia. Though he died in obscurity, many writers kept his views alive. These include Jonathan Glancey, Owen Hatherley, Veronica Horwell, Jonathan Meades, Andrew Saint, Gavin Stamp, Deyan Sudjic and David Thomson, all of whom contribute essays to this volume. There is a Nairn revival which will, in early 2014, include a TV film on Nairn. Many of Nairn's own TV programmes can be watched online.