A drawing from 'Outrage' by Ian Nairn (1955) by Gordon Cullen and Ian NairnRoyal Institute of British Architects
Outrage Against Subtopia
In 1955 the architecture critic Ian Nairn presented a special issue of the Architectural Review. In its pages, he coined a new term: "subtopia... the steamrollering of all individuality of place to one uniform and mediocre pattern".
The issue, titled Outrage Against Subtopia, warned that Britain's countryside was being destroyed by the encroachment of unsympathetic and ramshackle modern development.
A page from 'Outrage Against Subtopia' by Ian Nairn (1955) by Ian NairnRoyal Institute of British Architects
In the process of writing Outrage, Nairn drove all the way from Southampton to Carlisle, armed with a camera and notepad, to document what he found.
Alongside these photographs, the issue was brought to life by illustrations by architect Gordon Cullen.
Examples of wire and pylons from Ian Nairn's 'Outrage Against Subtopia' (1955) by Ian NairnRoyal Institute of British Architects
The symptoms of subtopia included a landscape scarred by urban sprawl, electricity wires, street lamps designed for standardization and expediency, and arterial roads that crudely bisected towns, "cutting church from churchyard".
Images of Lancashire from 'Outrage Against Subtopia' by Ian Nairn (1955) by Ian Nairn and Bill ToomeyRoyal Institute of British Architects
"Things in Fields" became shorthand for the everyday clutter of the modern landscape, spanning everything from pylons to petrol pumps.
A page from 'Outrage Against Subtopia' by Ian Nairn (1955) by Ian NairnRoyal Institute of British Architects
With echoes of today's debates around remote working's impact on urban economies, Nairn argued that an exodus from towns to the suburbs had left town centres "half alive... one half is where you work but can't live, the other half is where you live but don't work".
Ian Nairn outside Westminster Abbey (1956) by Sam LambertRoyal Institute of British Architects
Nairn's polemic ruffled feathers. One reporter described subtopia as "a repulsive word". A meeting of the Design and Industries Association later in 1955 suggested wryly that a league of "Outrage Spotters" could be established to uphold Nairn's design philosophy.
Sir Edward Maufe and Bishop Watkins meet Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip (1957) by Thomas A. WilkieRoyal Institute of British Architects
Within a few days of publication even the Duke of Edinburgh had entered the debate, referencing "subtopia" in a speech at the Royal College of Art. Another print run of the issue was hastily commissioned by the Architectural Review.
Examples of advertising from 'Counter attack against Subtopia' by Ian Nairn (1956) by Ian NairnRoyal Institute of British Architects
A New Plan for Planning
The next year Counter Attack Against Subtopia followed, another Architectural Review special issue in which a roster of experts (including architect Peter Shepheard, planner Walter Manthorpe, and social scientist Elizabeth Denby) built on the arguments of Outrage to present an alternative vision, including a new "Plan for Planning".
The travelling exhibition 'Subtopia' at the Royal Institute of British Architects (1957) by Sam LambertRoyal Institute of British Architects
Before long, the Royal Institute of British Architects had mounted its own contribution to the debate. A travelling exhibition titled 'Subtopia' toured to locations including Bradford, Bedford, and Tunbridge Wells, as well as RIBA's own headquarters.
Poster for 'Subtopia' exhibition (1957) by J. & H. CollinsRoyal Institute of British Architects
The poster for the RIBA exhibition depicts an ominous panorama where the structures of town, country, industry and infrastructure are tangled together in an untidy and ad-hoc landscape.
Peel seen from the castle on St Patrick's Isle (1955) by Ian NairnRoyal Institute of British Architects
In 1960, the word "subtopia" made it into a front-page editorial of the Daily Mail, showing the debate's leap from architectural discourse to mainstream public consciousness.
The Commons Chamber of the Houses of Parliament (1950) by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and Adrian Gilbert Scott, Charles Barry and AWN Pugin, and Photographer: Bedford Lemere & CoRoyal Institute of British Architects
Peers and Members of Parliament cited the scourge of "subtopia" in debates on planning, employment and rural deprivation. The word Nairn had coined in 1955 was still occasionally heard in the House of Commons until the 1980s.
Notting Hill Gate (1962) by Cotton Ballard & BlowRoyal Institute of British Architects
The success of Outrage gave Nairn a platform to campaign against what he saw as some of the most misguided developments. In 1958 he condemned the proposed widening of Notting Hill Gate and surrounding redevelopment, highlighting a lack of community involvement.
Notting Hill Gate redevelopment (1962) by Cotton Ballard & BlowRoyal Institute of British Architects
In spite of Nairn's protestations, Cotton Ballard & Blow's scheme for Notting Hill Gate transformed the neighbourhood in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Perhaps the march of subtopia had already proved unstoppable.
Nevertheless, Ian Nairn (who died in 1983 at the age of 52) remains one of the twentieth century's most influential voices on architecture and planning, whose work now enjoys fresh interest from architects and writers.
Photographs of street lamps, from 'Outrage Against Subtopia' by Ian Nairn (1955) by Ian NairnRoyal Institute of British Architects
With today's debates on the role of cars in cities, the preservation of existing buildings, and inconsistent construction standards, the idea of subtopia is as relevant as ever.
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