"Without any doubt, London is one of the best cities in the world for
modern architecture. But it is also one of the biggest cities in the
world, and it does not make a display of its best things. A visitor
looking for new buildings in the City and the West End might well be
justified in turning away with a shudder. Yet delightful things may be
waiting for him in Lewisham or St. Albans." --Ian Nairn, from the
foreword
As one of the few architectural critics to eschew purely aesthetic modes
of analysis, Ian Nairn's timeless books on modern urban cities have been
hailed as some of the most significant writing about contemporary
Britain, while also being praised as alternative "guidebooks" for
curious travellers. First published in 1964, Modern Buildings in
London celebrates the character of buildings that were immediately
recognisable as "modern" in 1964, many of which were not the part of the
well-known landscape of London but instead were gems that Nairn stumbled
across.
Written "by a layman for laymen," Nairn's take on modern design includes
classic buildings such as the Barbican, the former BBC Television Centre
and the Penguin Pool at Regent's Park Zoo as well as schools, old timber
yards, ambulance stations, car parks and even care homes.
