Ian Nairn was a British architectural critic who coined the term ‘subtopia’ for the areas around cities that had in his view been failed by urban planning, losing their individuality and spirit of place. Nairn would go on to inspire a fully fledged and flamboyant protest group, Anti-Ugly Action, whose leading members included the tragically short-lived, pop art painter Pauline Boty.

In 1964, Nairn published Modern Buildings in London, a primer on the best of contemporary architecture in the capital at that time, Now 40 years after his death, Notting Hill Editions have produced a new edition of this classic work with an introduction by the award-winning author Travis Elborough. Join Travis in an evening celebrating the all too short life but enduring legacy of Ian Nairn, a writer justly hailed as ‘the poet of place’.