Architectural Review
Encyclopedia
The Architectural Review is a monthly international architectural
magazine published in London
since 1896. Articles cover the built environment
which includes landscape
, building design
, interior design
and urbanism
as well as theory of these subjects.
The publishers, Emap Construct http://www.EmapConstructionNetwork.co.uk also produce a sister publication called Architects' Journal
.
polymaths everywhere.
organ inspired by John Ruskin
and AWN Pugin
, the movement’s great patriarchs.
It slowly changed with the zeitgeist to become more devoted to classical architecture and conscious of stirring international developments. By 1900 the magazine could boast that it was ‘the only magazine in the British Empire dealing with the artistic, as distinguished from the business side, of architecture’, a description that still, curiously, rings true today.
The first decade saw a long-running series, The Practical Exemplar of Architecture, which was intended, with photographs and measured drawings, to provide architects with a universal pattern book illustrating various architectural styles of the day.
During World War I
, the AR set itself the task of documenting the worst destruction in France
and Belgium
, and was chosen by the government to be the official publisher of coloured pictures of the decorations of London
for the peace celebrations of 1919.
, Ernö Goldfinger
, Berthold Lubetkin
and Walter Gropius
. Indeed, it was at the AR that Nikolaus Pevsner
, the famous German art and architecture historian, began his illustrious career.
During this period, the AR became much more lively and diverse with the arrival of John Betjeman
, Hubert de Cronin Hastings, new authors, idiosyncrasy and modernism. By the end of the 1930s under the helm of JM Richards, who edited the AR between 1937 and 1971 (by far the longest tenure of any of its 14 editors), the AR's reputation was established as the leading English language architectural magazine, with a worldwide constituency of readers.
, who made memorable contributions to the magazine.
After the strong foreign flavour of the war and its immediate aftermath, the 1950s witnessed a shift back to the conscientious efforts of British architects to rebuild a shattered nation. Reyner Banham
(who had studied under Pevsner) joined in 1952, and made an almost immediate mark on the magazine that seemed to him ‘rather fusty and run by elderly men’.
In its Townscape, Subtopia and Outrage sections, pioneered by Ian Nairn
and Gordon Cullen
, the AR campaigned vigorously against the curse of mediocre philistinism and celebrated the apotheosis of modernism.
These can be seen today as an analogy of the hubris of the profession, whose architects had begun to believe that they could build a new society by the imposition of enlightened architecture.
During the 1970s, the AR descended into a state of self-critical crisis typical of the end of modernism and exacerbated by its claims to be a straightforward record and not a mouthpiece of the avant-garde.
However, the depth of discussion given to buildings such as Lloyd's in London and the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank headquarters in Hong Kong also made clear that the latter part of the century belonged to Rogers
, Foster
and the lords of High Tech.
As with all media, it becomes impossible to tell how far the AR has accurately recounted the preoccupations and ideals of several generations, and how far it has defined and shaped them. Yet though over time it has (sometimes often radically) changed in format, design and personnel, it still maintains a spirit of constancy and continuity. As the AR's immense archive is gradually digitised, its deep historical roots will hopefully inform, enlighten and reconnect with new generations of readers.
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
magazine published in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
since 1896. Articles cover the built environment
Built environment
The term built environment refers to the human-made surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from personal shelter and buildings to neighborhoods and cities that can often include their supporting infrastructure, such as water supply or energy networks.The built...
which includes landscape
Landscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
, building design
Building design
Building design refers to the broadly based architectural, engineering and technical applications to the design of buildings. All building projects require the services of a building designer, typically a licensed architect or structural engineer...
, interior design
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
and urbanism
Urbanism
Broadly, urbanism is a focus on cities and urban areas, their geography, economies, politics, social characteristics, as well as the effects on, and caused by, the built environment.-Philosophy:...
as well as theory of these subjects.
The publishers, Emap Construct http://www.EmapConstructionNetwork.co.uk also produce a sister publication called Architects' Journal
Architects Journal
The Architects' Journal is a weekly architectural magazine published in London by Emap. The first edition was produced in 1896. Commonly referred to by architects as the AJ, its articles cover matters of more immediate interest than its sister publication the Architectural Review...
.
History
The Architectural Review was founded in 1896, on the cusp of the 20th century. The cover of the first issue bore the legend 'a magazine for the artist and craftsman', though this subsequently became 'artist, archaeologist, designer and craftsman', thus firmly setting its sights on VictorianVictorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
polymaths everywhere.
Arts and Crafts
The earliest issues were large in format and plainly intended to make the discussion of architecture visual as well as verbal. In those early years, the AR was very much an Arts and CraftsArts and crafts
Arts and crafts comprise a whole host of activities and hobbies that are related to making things with one's hands and skill. These can be sub-divided into handicrafts or "traditional crafts" and "the rest"...
organ inspired by John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
and AWN Pugin
Pugin
Pugin most commonly refers to Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin , English architect and designer.Other members of his family include:...
, the movement’s great patriarchs.
It slowly changed with the zeitgeist to become more devoted to classical architecture and conscious of stirring international developments. By 1900 the magazine could boast that it was ‘the only magazine in the British Empire dealing with the artistic, as distinguished from the business side, of architecture’, a description that still, curiously, rings true today.
The first decade saw a long-running series, The Practical Exemplar of Architecture, which was intended, with photographs and measured drawings, to provide architects with a universal pattern book illustrating various architectural styles of the day.
Re-launch - 1913
The 1913 re-launch took advantage of advances in the quality of photographic reproduction, heralding a new and lavish format, with whole page photographs illustrating the great works of a confident Empire.During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the AR set itself the task of documenting the worst destruction in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and was chosen by the government to be the official publisher of coloured pictures of the decorations of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for the peace celebrations of 1919.
1920s and 1930s
The 1920s and 1930s saw the AR engage more actively with new architectural movements. It proposed ideas and plans for the League of Nations; it reprinted Louis Sullivan's speeches verbatim and commissioned pieces from Le CorbusierLe Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
, Ernö Goldfinger
Erno Goldfinger
Ernő Goldfinger was a Hungarian-born Jewish architect and designer of furniture, and a key member of the architectural Modern Movement after he had moved to the United Kingdom.-Biography:Goldfinger was born in Budapest...
, Berthold Lubetkin
Berthold Lubetkin
Berthold Romanovich Lubetkin was a Russian émigré architect who pioneered modernist design in Britain in the 1930s. His work includes the Highpoint housing complex, London Zoo penguin pool, Finsbury Health Centre and Spa Green Estate.-Early years:Berthold Lubetkin was born in Tiflis into a Jewish...
and Walter Gropius
Walter Gropius
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
. Indeed, it was at the AR that Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
, the famous German art and architecture historian, began his illustrious career.
During this period, the AR became much more lively and diverse with the arrival of John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
, Hubert de Cronin Hastings, new authors, idiosyncrasy and modernism. By the end of the 1930s under the helm of JM Richards, who edited the AR between 1937 and 1971 (by far the longest tenure of any of its 14 editors), the AR's reputation was established as the leading English language architectural magazine, with a worldwide constituency of readers.
Post-war years
In the post-war years of new ideas, its reputation for scholarship grew and Pevsner was succeeded by a young Colin RoweColin Rowe
Colin Rowe , was a British-born, American-naturalised architectural historian, critic, theoretician, and teacher; acknowledged as a major intellectual influence on world architecture and urbanism in the second half of the twentieth century and beyond, particularly in the fields of city planning,...
, who made memorable contributions to the magazine.
After the strong foreign flavour of the war and its immediate aftermath, the 1950s witnessed a shift back to the conscientious efforts of British architects to rebuild a shattered nation. Reyner Banham
Reyner Banham
Peter Reyner Banham was a prolific architectural critic and writer best known for his 1960 theoretical treatise Theory and Design in the First Machine Age and for his 1971 book Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies...
(who had studied under Pevsner) joined in 1952, and made an almost immediate mark on the magazine that seemed to him ‘rather fusty and run by elderly men’.
In its Townscape, Subtopia and Outrage sections, pioneered by Ian Nairn
Ian Nairn
Ian Nairn was a British architectural critic and topographer.He had no formal architecture qualifications; he was a mathematics graduate and a Royal Air Force pilot...
and Gordon Cullen
Gordon Cullen
Thomas Gordon Cullen was an influential English architect and urban designer who was a key motivator in the Townscape movement. He is best known for the book The Concise Townscape, first published in 1961.-Biography:Cullen was born in Calverley, Pudsey, near Leeds...
, the AR campaigned vigorously against the curse of mediocre philistinism and celebrated the apotheosis of modernism.
1960s and 1970s
The 1960s brought an end to such certainties and the magazine faced increasing commercial peril. The Manplan series of the late 1960s was designed to reposition the AR at the heart of debate, setting out to ambitiously correct the ills of Britain with huge (and hugely expensive) photographic coverage of its problems, complemented by verbose essays on suggested solutions.These can be seen today as an analogy of the hubris of the profession, whose architects had begun to believe that they could build a new society by the imposition of enlightened architecture.
During the 1970s, the AR descended into a state of self-critical crisis typical of the end of modernism and exacerbated by its claims to be a straightforward record and not a mouthpiece of the avant-garde.
1980s
By the 1980s it had regained its focus under Peter Davey, shifting into a theme-based format, in which buildings were grouped by function or idea. It was during this period that the AR reclaimed its intellectual and visual superiority, with special issues on the environment, landscape, art and ecology, and architecture and climate, indicating a prescient engagement with environmental issues.However, the depth of discussion given to buildings such as Lloyd's in London and the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank headquarters in Hong Kong also made clear that the latter part of the century belonged to Rogers
Rogers
-Places:Canada*Rogers Island *Rogers PassUnited States*Rogers, Arkansas*Rogers, California*Rogers, California, alternate name of Muroc, California*Rogers, Minnesota*Rogers, Nebraska*Rogers, Ohio*Rogers, Virginia*Rogers City, Michigan...
, Foster
Foster
- Places :Australia* Foster, VictoriaUnited States* Foster, California ** Foster, San Diego County, California** Foster, Siskiyou County, California* Foster, Indiana* Foster, Missouri* Foster, Nebraska* Foster, Oregon* Foster, Rhode Island...
and the lords of High Tech.
AR today
Now, a decade into the new century, pluralism, parametricism and plagiarism reign, though the AR is still sceptical of fashions and fads, believing architecture to be, at its core, a socially responsible art.As with all media, it becomes impossible to tell how far the AR has accurately recounted the preoccupations and ideals of several generations, and how far it has defined and shaped them. Yet though over time it has (sometimes often radically) changed in format, design and personnel, it still maintains a spirit of constancy and continuity. As the AR's immense archive is gradually digitised, its deep historical roots will hopefully inform, enlighten and reconnect with new generations of readers.
Notable people
- Henry WilsonHenry Wilson (architect and designer)Henry Wilson was a British architect, jeweller and designer.-Career:He was born at 91 Red Rock Street in West Derby near Liverpool on 12 March 1864....
- first editor 1896-1901 - John BetjemanJohn BetjemanSir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
- assistant editor, 1930 to 1935 - James Maude RichardsJames Maude RichardsSir James Maude Richards, FRIBA, MA, , was a leading British architectural writer.Richards was born at Epsom, Surrey. Educated at Gresham's School, Holt, and Cambridge University, he trained as an architect at the Architectural Association, but his main career was as a writer on architecture...
- editor, 1937 to 1971 - Nikolaus PevsnerNikolaus PevsnerSir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
- acting editor 1943 to 1945 and member of editorial board 1945 to 1970 - László Moholy-NagyLászló Moholy-NagyLászló Moholy-Nagy was a Hungarian painter and photographer as well as professor in the Bauhaus school. He was highly influenced by constructivism and a strong advocate of the integration of technology and industry into the arts.-Early life:...
- photographer - Gordon CullenGordon CullenThomas Gordon Cullen was an influential English architect and urban designer who was a key motivator in the Townscape movement. He is best known for the book The Concise Townscape, first published in 1961.-Biography:Cullen was born in Calverley, Pudsey, near Leeds...
- art editor - Robert MelvilleRobert Melville (art critic)Robert Melville was an English art critic and journalist.Along with the artists Conroy Maddox and John Melville , he was a key member of the Birmingham Surrealists in the 1930s and 1940s...
- art critic - Peter Blundell JonesPeter Blundell JonesPeter Blundell Jones AA Dipl MA is a British architect, historian, academic and critic. He trained as an architect at the Architectural Association school, London and has held academic positions at the University of Cambridge and London South Bank University...
- contributor - Stephen GardinerStephen Gardiner (architect)Stephen Gardiner OBE was a British architect, teacher and writer.Gardiner was born and raised in Chelsea in London. He was the younger son of Clive Gardiner, painter and principal of Goldsmiths College from 1929 to 1958, and Lily Lancaster, also a painter and one of Walter Sickert's favourite...
- contributor - Ian NairnIan NairnIan Nairn was a British architectural critic and topographer.He had no formal architecture qualifications; he was a mathematics graduate and a Royal Air Force pilot...
- contributor - William J. R. CurtisWilliam J. R. CurtisWilliam J. R. Curtis is an important architectural historian whose writings have focused on twentieth century architecture...
- contributor - Peter CookPeter Cook (architect)Professor Sir Peter Cook, founder of Archigram , former Director the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London and the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London, has been a pivotal figure within the global architectural world for over half a century. His ongoing contribution to...
- architect and contributor