Reviews For Architectural Record Magazine

This magazine is great for industry professionals. If you are looking for more decorating type magazines, I recommend Architectural Digest, Veranda, etc. Architectural Record is more technical based and offers industry related information such as elevations and floor plans. In that respect, if you are a student of Architecture or Interior Design, get this magazine because you will be introduced to things you just cannot get in school or in other non-industry magazines. It is wise to add this magazine to your list of subscriptions.

This magazine is packed with projects, images and comments from people who know architecture. It is a great way to keep up with the market and all the innovations in new projects in different parts of the world. I'm an interior designerr and have been subscribed for over 3 years now and it is definitely worth every penny!

I LOVE THIS MAGAZINE!!..I like everything about this excellent magazine. It always begins with the most current news on architecture around the world. The articles are always well written and interesting, whether you agree or not. The photography is amazing, some of the shots are incredible. I highly recommend this to anyone with any interest whatsoever in architecture, you will love this magazine.

Record can be a very provocative magazine that might encourage a person to actually go out and try 'Architecture'. Luckily I am an Architecture Major, but for those who are simply browsing to see which mag they are going to get into next. Trust me you definately want to read this one. It motivates your body, it stimulates the designer inside of each and every one of us; as well as it encourages us to stop by a building and look at it as more than wood or steel put together with nails, but a form of relieving the designers that we all are. You'll learn to appreciate the home that you live in and as well bring out the dream house that we always wanted to life in some instances. From Corbu to FLW to Gerhy or from 'Falling Waters' to the 'Disney Concert Hall' AR will represent the best and only the best. This way we know what is good and what is not. So trust me if it is not in this magazine, it's not what you want to go out and see.

I asked a friend of mine who is an architecture student to recommend a good magazine for me--a casual reader. He suggested Architectural Record (AR) immediately. I followed his lead and started buying AR from bookstores. After reading about one year, I got some opinions on the pros and cons of this magazine and would like to share them with prospective readers/subscribers. Please note that my evaluation is from a layperson's point of view. It might not work for professionals.

I think the goal of AR is to keep people updated about what's happening in the architectural communities around the world, to present the latest works, and to reveal some patterns or trends in today's design. Based on this mission, I think AR does a great job.

But if architecture is only your hobby, AR might be too much for you. At least we are not making a living with it and do not have to know everything about it. Chances are that only a small part of the content in each issue might interest you. Nevertheless, as what I mentioned, AR is a good and serious architecture journal. So the key question is not whether to read it or not, but how to read it wisely or read which issue(s).

Fortunately, several clues can provide us with good suggestions. Each issue of AR has a special section called "Building Type Study" which focuses on one type of building (such as library, museum, bridge, office building, etc.). You can choose the right issues by skimming through the this section. Moreover, each year AR has a special issue called "Record Houses" featuring about 10 residental projects carefully selected around the world. If you are into residential architecture, you don't want to miss them.

Unless you are a hardcore architecture fan and would like to know all about it, amateurs like me can choose the right issues to read and get the information I need. I think this is the right or smart strategy to take advantage of this quality magazine.

That being said, I am not quite comfortable about the large volume of advertisements in the magazine (though I know it might be necessary).