In person: Nairn Night: 70th Anniversary of Outrage, book launch and panel discussion
Nairn Night: 70th Anniversary of Outrage, book launch and panel discussion
Wednesday 5 February 2025 6:30pm-8pm
The Gallery, 70 Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6EJ
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
Otto Saumarez-Smith - Assistant Professor in Architectural History at the University of Warwick, C20 Society Trustee and Chair of our Casework Committee
Gareth Gardner - Architectural photographer, whose Route Book project retraced the Southampton to Carlisle route of Outrage in 2016 and 2024
C20 Society Member £11;
Non-Member £16;
Young C20 member + guest Free*;
Student + guest £5 **
*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.
Includes a glass of wine
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.
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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
Above image Photograph:
THIS BOOKING IS FOR AN IN-PERSON TICKET ONLY (COWCROSS STREET GALLERY)