Our best Ian Nairn quotes

Architectural critic with no formal training; outspoken broadcaster with a passion for honesty; Ian Nairn saw cityscapes like no one else. There are plenty of lists out there with the best Ian Nairn quotes, but as the 24th of August this year would have marked Nairn’s 94th birthday, we have rounded up a few of our favourite quotes from our books by Nairn.

We hope you enjoy…

Some of our favourite Nairn quotes from Nairn’s Towns

Spire of St Nicholas

‘The extraordinary 15th-century spire of St Nicholas haunts most of the skyline views of Newcastle … Why the builders put up this strange airborne tabernacle we have no idea. Perhaps … simply to see if it stayed up.’ (Nairn’s Towns)

Brummie pigeons

‘Brummie pigeons seemed to have a remarkable architectural sense which can still be seen on the head post office south of the town hall: they shit to a pattern.’ (Nairn’s Towns)

Nairn abroad: Nairn’s Paris

How to enjoy Paris

‘All you have to do is put your arse on a café seat, park bench, or low wall, and look.’ (Nairn’s Paris)

On Paris pissoires

‘The perfect mot juste. Circular, surrounded by a pierced metal screen. A centralized scallop of convenience, protected by a glass canopy on elegant metal brackets: a lamp in the centre. What could be more economical, yet more satisfactory? Like many other good things in Paris, it looks like an Art Nouveau design. There is one in the avenue de Wagram, just north of the Arc de Triomphe, though they are everywhere. A new prudishness now seems to want to remove them, so piss while you can.’ (Nairn’s Paris)

The best Ian Nairn quotes in Modern Buildings in London

British church furnishings

‘The general standard of British church furnishings is so awful that anything  good is worth special notice.’ (Modern Buildings in London)

‘Oh dear, the English!’ (Rebuilding east of St. Paul’s)

‘If by whim or temperament you want to find somewhere to say: “Oh dear, the English!” then this is it. Every change has been rung on timidity, compromise and incompetence.’ (Modern Buildings in London)

Fleeting humane design

‘The real question put by this estate, and it makes me angrier than all the angry young men, is why the pattern of architectural fashion forces humane design to be as fleeting as this, arrived at almost accidentally between one rigid, intolerant position and the next.’ (Modern Buildings in London)

Our books by Ian Nairn are perfect for collectors and enthusiasts: bound in linen for longevity, adorned with red satin markers for style. And if you’re new to Nairn’s world, discover the writings of our most passionate, outraged architectural critic with NHE by clicking below.