Architectural Journals

In Russia the first architectural journal, Arkhitekturnyi vestnik, came out in 1859 in St. Petersburg. From 1872 to 1917, Zodchii (The Architect) was published—the monthly journal of the St. Petersburg Association of Architects (with a supplement entitled Nedelia stroitelia [Builder’s Week]). After the Great October Revolution the intensive development of architectural thought in the 1920’s facilitated the growth of architectural periodicals. In the USSR more than 20 architectural journals have been published, including Sovremennaia arkhitektura (Contemporary Architecture), the organ of the Union of Contemporary Architects (issued in Moscow six times a year from 1926 to 1930). Since 1933 the monthly Arkhitektura SSSR, the permanent organ of the Union of Architects of the USSR, has been published in Moscow; since 1962 it has also been the organ of the State Committee on Civil Construction and Architecture. In addition, certain monthly architectural journals published in the USSR cast light on the problems of architecture and construction in the individual Union republics. For example, Stroitel’stvo i arkhitektura Uzbekistana (Construction and Architecture in Uzbekistan) has come out in Tashkent since 1960 in both Uzbek and Russian; Stroitel’stvo i arkhitektura (Construction and Architecture) has been issued in Kiev since 1957 in Russian, and during the years 1953–55 it was published six times a year in Ukrainian under the title Arkhitektura i budivnytstvo (Architecture and Construction). Problems of the cities are dealt with in such journals as Stroitel’stvo i arkhitektura Leningrada (Construction and Architecture in Leningrad), issued since 1936, and Stroitel’stvo i arkhitektura Moskvy (Construction and Architecture in Moscow), issued since 1952. Special branches are treated in Zhilishchnoe Stroitel’stvo (Housing Construction), published since 1958, and Promyshlennoe stroitel’stvo (Industrial Construction), issued since 1924, both in Moscow.

The first foreign architectural journals appeared in Great Britain—the London weeklies, Architect and Building News (published since 1869) and Architect’s Journal (published since 1895)—as well as in the USA—Architectural Forum (issued monthly in New York since 1892). Their themes did not extend beyond the architectural life of their own countries. Among the largest architectural journals in which there is a broad treatment of the practice of architecture throughout the world are the following: Journal of the Royal Institute of British Architects (issued monthly in London since 1893), Baumeister (issued monthly in Munich since 1902), Werk (issued monthly since 1914 in Winterthur, Switzerland), and L’architecture d’aujourd’hui (issued once every two months since 1930 in Paris; also in Russian translation as Sovremennaia arkhitektura[Contemporary Architecture] since 1961 in Moscow), and the monthly journals Acropole (published since 1938 in Sao Paulo, Brazil) and L’architecture française (published since 1940 in Paris). The monthly architectural journals which are issued in the socialist countries of Europe deal basically with problems of urban construction and housing and industrial construction in their own countries—for example, ArchitekturačSSR (issued since 1946 in Prague), Architektura (issued since 1947 in Warsaw), and Deutsche Architektur (published since 1952 in Berlin, German Democratic Republic).