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Nairn's Towns
A new edition of Britain’s Changing Towns by Ian Nairn (1967), introduced, edited and updated by Owen Hatherley.
“These essays show him writing about cities and towns as wholes rather than as collections of individual buildings. In each of them, there are several things happening at once – assessments of historic townscape, capsule reviews of new buildings, attempts to find the specific character of each place…”
Sixteen short essays on places as varied as Glasgow and Norwich, Llanidloes and Sheffield, by the finest English architectural writer of the twentieth century.
‘Nairn invented a way of looking, a way of writing.’ — Jonathan Meades
‘Nairn’s emergence as a maverick, inspiring figure in midtwentieth century architectural writing (and broadcasting) was sudden, and his claim on the public’s attention all too brief . . . On a good day he could turn phrases like an angel and gave his readers, listeners and viewers insights others could only dream of. And he did this by ignoring all differences between high- and low-brow, between aristocracy and working class, between fine art and fine engineering.’ – Gillian Darley, AA Files
Ian Nairn (1930–1983) made his name with a special issue of the Architectural Review in which he coined the term ‘Subtopia’ for the areas around cities that had been failed by urban planning. He was largely responsible for the volumes on Surrey and Sussex in Nikolaus Pevsner’s Buildings of England series, and published two guidebooks, Nairn’s London (1966) and Nairn’s Paris (1968), as well as presenting several BBC television series. His work has influenced writers as diverse as J. G. Ballard, Will Self, Iain Sinclair and Patrick Wright.
Owen Hatherley is the author of the acclaimed Militant Modernism, a defence of the modernist movement, and A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain. He writes regularly for a variety of publications, including Building Design, Frieze, the Guardian and the New Statesman. He blogs on political aesthetics at nastybrutalistandshort.blogspot.com.
“These essays show him writing about cities and towns as wholes rather than as collections of individual buildings. In each of them, there are several things happening at once – assessments of historic townscape, capsule reviews of new buildings, attempts to find the specific character of each place…”
Sixteen short essays on places as varied as Glasgow and Norwich, Llanidloes and Sheffield, by the finest English architectural writer of the twentieth century.
‘Nairn invented a way of looking, a way of writing.’ — Jonathan Meades
‘Nairn’s emergence as a maverick, inspiring figure in midtwentieth century architectural writing (and broadcasting) was sudden, and his claim on the public’s attention all too brief . . . On a good day he could turn phrases like an angel and gave his readers, listeners and viewers insights others could only dream of. And he did this by ignoring all differences between high- and low-brow, between aristocracy and working class, between fine art and fine engineering.’ – Gillian Darley, AA Files
Ian Nairn (1930–1983) made his name with a special issue of the Architectural Review in which he coined the term ‘Subtopia’ for the areas around cities that had been failed by urban planning. He was largely responsible for the volumes on Surrey and Sussex in Nikolaus Pevsner’s Buildings of England series, and published two guidebooks, Nairn’s London (1966) and Nairn’s Paris (1968), as well as presenting several BBC television series. His work has influenced writers as diverse as J. G. Ballard, Will Self, Iain Sinclair and Patrick Wright.
Owen Hatherley is the author of the acclaimed Militant Modernism, a defence of the modernist movement, and A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain. He writes regularly for a variety of publications, including Building Design, Frieze, the Guardian and the New Statesman. He blogs on political aesthetics at nastybrutalistandshort.blogspot.com.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
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About the author
Ian Nairn
25 books6 followersIan Douglas Nairn was a British architectural critic and topographer.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 9, 2015
The erection of a drive-through Costa Coffee close to Oxfordshire's Milton Park estate was probably the CEO of the roasting company's Scaramanga moment - 'forget any marches on Moscow; we now really have taken over the world.' However, as early as 1955, Ian Nairn undertook a drive from Southampton to Carlisle and spoke of 'the steamrollering of place...into one mediocre pattern'. His particular pet peeve is 'subtopia' - the identikit nature of our streets and cityscapes and a phenomenon that has now reached wholly unacceptable proportions.
This book sees Nairn appraise the architecture of a series of UK towns in the early sixties with the cunning addition of a postscript written later that decade (in which he often brazenly withdraws his original judgements) and a series of excellent 2013 assessments from editor Owen Hatherley who has also written a sprightly introduction.
That Nairn speaks approvingly of being able to procure a pint of Guinness at 10 o'clock in the morning indicates where his fate sadly lay but he was a TV personality too and perhaps the main evidence of an architecture critic refusing to bow to the opinion of royal societies or polite opinion - he likes some brutal modernist buildings and not others; ditto ancient cathedrals and civic buildings.
I found the chapters where I knew the city better to be naturally the most satisfying - Liverpool and Birmingham are particularly skilfully appraised - while the chapters on Plymouth and Brighton are also good in a volume that rarely dips in standard. A great time capsule.
This book sees Nairn appraise the architecture of a series of UK towns in the early sixties with the cunning addition of a postscript written later that decade (in which he often brazenly withdraws his original judgements) and a series of excellent 2013 assessments from editor Owen Hatherley who has also written a sprightly introduction.
That Nairn speaks approvingly of being able to procure a pint of Guinness at 10 o'clock in the morning indicates where his fate sadly lay but he was a TV personality too and perhaps the main evidence of an architecture critic refusing to bow to the opinion of royal societies or polite opinion - he likes some brutal modernist buildings and not others; ditto ancient cathedrals and civic buildings.
I found the chapters where I knew the city better to be naturally the most satisfying - Liverpool and Birmingham are particularly skilfully appraised - while the chapters on Plymouth and Brighton are also good in a volume that rarely dips in standard. A great time capsule.
September 28, 2017
Perfectly readable and eye-opening in places (I always thought I knew Brighton; now I know I don't. I thought Egyptian pastiche started with Art Deco. Turns out Plymouth has several early 19th century examples, and Piccadilly did too until 1905). It's one where being able to Google the various buildings is very helpful (there just aren't enough images).
It also reliably delivers on those sparkling Nairn gems (a church in Marylebone like 'the longest business speech made visible') and Nairn put downs. He can anthropomorphise like no other. Almost to excess. It's helpful, but I still can't help thinking he's making it up (I mean, is every Brighton street 'different'? Couldn't you say that about anywhere?).
For all that, I must confess I still have no idea how to read churches - and this is a reminder. Listening to an architecture critic on churches is like hearing two oldtimers talking about the racing form, or middle aged men talking cars. It's an alien world. Must try harder, but honestly - you're weird.
It also reliably delivers on those sparkling Nairn gems (a church in Marylebone like 'the longest business speech made visible') and Nairn put downs. He can anthropomorphise like no other. Almost to excess. It's helpful, but I still can't help thinking he's making it up (I mean, is every Brighton street 'different'? Couldn't you say that about anywhere?).
For all that, I must confess I still have no idea how to read churches - and this is a reminder. Listening to an architecture critic on churches is like hearing two oldtimers talking about the racing form, or middle aged men talking cars. It's an alien world. Must try harder, but honestly - you're weird.
December 10, 2019
“Modern architecture has its own set of broken election promises.”
Nairn originally visited these towns in the early 60s and then revisited them in 1967 and adds a brief update to them. This has all the hallmarks of the man, opinionated, contrary and iconoclastic.
Owen Hatherley’s introduction sets up the book nicely and the updates and postscripts he adds to Nairn’s text are a nice touch and really add something of value to the original without intruding and trying to muscle it out.
This book dares to venture beyond England, taking in a couple of areas of Scotland and a tokenistic trip to Derry in Northern Ireland and Llanidloes in Wales, which gives a marginally wider appeal. I am a fan of Nairn and can appreciate how significant his input and observations were into architecture back in the day, but I don’t rate him to the extent that the likes of Meades and Hatherley and many others do. Without doubt he has his eloquent and memorable moments, but there are also plenty of times when he struggles to focus and his words don’t seem to sit quite right.
February 3, 2024
A gift from a friend who was gifted two! The towns with which I am most acquainted naturally provided the most interest but it was a new architecture commentator for me to enjoy. Nairn has a fascination with dirty buildings, on several occasions he is quick to say 'don't clean it' or when it has been cleaned and there is no sign of the original finish on the stone, he is disappointed.
He compares Glasgow's Scottish architecture as having more continental influence than English, which is pleasing to hear and the bold assertion that Glasgow Cathedral " better than Lincoln and Salisbury." The information on Derry was new to me and encouraging for a wee trip.
He compares Glasgow's Scottish architecture as having more continental influence than English, which is pleasing to hear and the bold assertion that Glasgow Cathedral " better than Lincoln and Salisbury." The information on Derry was new to me and encouraging for a wee trip.
April 19, 2020
I've become a bit obsessed with Ian Nairn recently after watching his old documentaries on YouTube. These essays have some lovely turns of phrase but I think I prefer his pithy TV persona. I never felt connected to the places he writes about like I did when watching him.
Owen Hatherley's additions are interesting but he writes in the style of Nairn which felt like he was trying to upstage him a bit, probably not his intention.
Owen Hatherley's additions are interesting but he writes in the style of Nairn which felt like he was trying to upstage him a bit, probably not his intention.
March 12, 2017
There really shouldn't be too much of interest in the description of cities and towns as they were nearly 50 years ago. However, Nairn is a fascinating writer. He is clear and concise. The George Orwell of architectural writers. The updates by Owen Hatherley are rather good. In a similar style to Nairn , but sufficiently personal to be complimentary. A fine book.
October 3, 2019
Meh. Ian Nairn blows into a town, sprays the place copiously with adjectives, then leaves. What are these places like to live in, how do the buildings function? He doesn't ask anyone who lives there; that isn't considered. Even as historical record, it fails to convey much useful detail. Also, like his mentor Pevsner, there's an obsessive focus on ecclesiastical architecture. If a town has two dozen churches and half a dozen notable secular buildings, after a brief skim over the latter you can be sure you'll read about every single f**king church in detail - witness the Marylebone chapter, which is obviously the best place because it's in London and all the best people live there. (It makes me think I'd rather claw my own eyes out than go on to read "Nairn's London".)
Unless you can make sense of cryptic remarks such as "the old rhythms have been caught and effortlessly translated" or "queer things happen in the transepts [like WHAT?], and the inside of the tower, looking up, brings to mind Baalbek rather than Bayeux" - or are actually standing before the architecture in question while reading - I'd avoid it. It's a lot of verbiage to very little descriptive end. Owen Hatherley, whose waspish addenda to each chapter are probably the highlights, lauds Nairn for the quality of his writing, but I'm afraid it left me mostly nonplussed. One star added for the design of this reprinted edition, which is exemplary.
Unless you can make sense of cryptic remarks such as "the old rhythms have been caught and effortlessly translated" or "queer things happen in the transepts [like WHAT?], and the inside of the tower, looking up, brings to mind Baalbek rather than Bayeux" - or are actually standing before the architecture in question while reading - I'd avoid it. It's a lot of verbiage to very little descriptive end. Owen Hatherley, whose waspish addenda to each chapter are probably the highlights, lauds Nairn for the quality of his writing, but I'm afraid it left me mostly nonplussed. One star added for the design of this reprinted edition, which is exemplary.
April 1, 2016
A collection of writing by Nairn at his acerbic best. As one of the few critics of architecture to eschew purely aesthetic modes of analysis, Nairn instead focused on the character and feeling of buildings and towns. This proclivity for affect is reflected by his praise for structures as diverse as Everton Water Tower, Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, Sheffield’s Globe Works, Newcastle’s Victorian railway infrastructure, Charles Church in Plymouth and the entire Welsh town of Llanidloes. Nairn’s original essays, written in the early 1960s, exude optimism about the future of planning and conservation but he is altogether more deflated when re-evaluating in his late 60s postscripts. The reissue by Notting Hill Editions includes insightful post-postscripts by Owen Hatherley, but the publisher has taken the dubious typographical decision of printing them entirely in italics, which, to be frank, is daft. Nevertheless, we must credit them for illuminating such an important work in the history of planning.
The BBC made a wonderful documentary telling Nairn’s story a few years ago called The Man who Fought the Planners which deserves an hour of your time if you’re interested in British planning history.
The BBC made a wonderful documentary telling Nairn’s story a few years ago called The Man who Fought the Planners which deserves an hour of your time if you’re interested in British planning history.
May 19, 2014
An interesting selection of towns - Birmingham, Newcastle, Llandudno, Manchester and others. He is an intelligent enthusiast and like buildings with style located where they will be appreciated. Some of his selections are eccentric but make sense in hos overview of the world.
Imagine Keith Floyd did architecture instead of cooking and this is what Ian Nairn was like.
Imagine Keith Floyd did architecture instead of cooking and this is what Ian Nairn was like.
April 17, 2017
Nairn's collected articles and updates give an insight into both the re-shaping of Britain's towns and cities in the 1960s as well as the mindset that accompanied these 'regeneration' projects. However, an equal share of Nairn's time is devoted to the historic and surviving merits of these towns, these examples often providing a counterpoint to Nairn's tangible dissatisfaction with the quality of some new developments. Hatherley's contemporary updates meanwhile, ensure that this book remains relevant and useful for reasons other than just pure enjoyment of Nairn's acerbic wit.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews