Outrage Revisited

In 1955, British architecture critic Ian Nairn (1930-1983; BBC photograph above) voiced his disdain for what he called subtopia, the increasing homogenization of landscape and townscape, a quest for the ideal suburbia. He proclaimed his "Outrage" as a special issue of Architectural Review. Disparaging the "death by slow decay" of post-War planning, Nairn was a modernist who admired distinctive places that were redolent with spirit.

The Guardian's current architecture critic Jonathan Glancey has been creating a series of films (begun 19 May 2010) that follow Nairn's footsteps across the British countryside. Watch the installments here.