The Twentieth Century Society

Campaigning for outstanding buildings

Zoom: Nairn Night: 70th Anniversary of Outrage, book launch and panel discussion

Illustration advertising the event

Nairn Night: 70th Anniversary of Outrage, book launch and panel discussion

Wednesday 5 February 2025 at 6.30pm

Online

Join C20 Society, Notting Hill Editions, and a host of friends for a special evening celebrating the 70th anniversary of Ian Nairn’s seminal Outrage, and launching the newly republished edition.

In 1955, Britain’s most prestigious architectural magazine, The Architectural Review, published a special issue featuring a single essay by Ian Nairn, a famously opinionated (and untrained) architectural critic. Based on observations made on a journey Nairn took across the UK in a Morris Minor, Outrage is a searing critique of urban sprawl, or ‘Subtopia’. In this manifesto, Nairn warns that ‘if what is called development is allowed to multiply at the present rate’, Britain’s natural – and urban – landscapes will lose their individuality and spirit. A call-to-arms against the ‘greying out’ of our towns and countryside before it’s too late, Outrage is widely considered to be Nairn’s masterpiece.

Contributors will include:

Travis Elborough - Author, historian, and social commentator, whose introduction heads this newly republished edition of Outrage

Gillian Darley - Writer, architectural historian, broadcaster, former C20 President, and author of Ian Nairn Words in Place

Hugh Pearman - C20 Chair, author, editor and former architecture critic at the Sunday Times - a role Nairn filled in the late 1970s

Gareth Gardner - Architectural photographer, whose Route Book project retraced the Southampton to Carlisle route of Outrage in 2016 and 2024

C20 Society Members: £6
Non-Members: £8 
Young C20 member Free*; 
Student £4 ** 

*For Young C20 members, please email coordinator@c20society.org.uk to secure a place. 

**For student pricing please select from the dropdown option next to ‘membership number’ on the booking form below. 

Click here for our latest cancellation policy. 

Note: This event is hybrid and is being run both in-person at Cowcross Street Gallery and online via Zoom. The event will be recorded and offered as a catch-up lecture for those who have booked and will be available for two weeks. 

We will send you a Zoom link by email after you book, which will enable you to ‘join’ the event. You should receive an automated link within an hour of booking so please check your spam/junk emails if you haven’t received this. Any further problems please contact coordinator@c20society.org.uk

Not a member yet? Join Here and benefit from event ticket discounts.

Looking to support our campaigning? Donate to our casework Here

The Twentieth Century Society is an IHBC (Institute of Historic Building conservation) recognised CPD provider. 

The Twentieth Century Society is a registered charity, no 1110244 

THIS BOOKING IS FOR A ZOOM ONLINE TICKET ONLY.

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