Ark Journal has established itself quickly as one of the must-have architecture and interior design magazines of the last decade. Although the first six issues are out of print, these early issues were randomly distributed the UK and, we suspect, mostly to the wrong outlets. Subsequently Ark was an under-the-radar magazine for its earliest releases which are now very scarce and highly sought after.
But you don't come to Ark Journal for the globetrotting. Already one of the definitive Scandinavian interior design magazines, packed with sleek, minimalist and cool imagery, we think it's the seamless integration of personal, philosophical and cultural thinking around design that is attracting new readers in droves.
Explaining the magazine's 'Spaces, Objects, People' tagline, the publisher says, 'we explore the spaces around us, the objects we put in them and the people who make them. Bridging architecture, design and art, we show them as interplay rather than in silos, and with a sense of enduring Scandinavian values and aesthetics.'
We're working hard (but largely failing, it seems) to keep all available issues of Ark in stock while they're still in print. If this is your thing, you'll be floored.
Ark is generally released in three or four covers. Copies distributed through the UK supplier network will inevitably have barcode stickers. Those imported directly by us are not stickered, but we have not factored this into our pricing, both with Ark and with regard to back issues in general. Magazines are not books and barcode and distributor stickers are part of their story.
About Vol XI, The Spring/Summer 2024 Issue, from the publisher:
'Ark Journal Volume 11 ponders how history shapes our understanding of art, design and architecture, and celebrates the fluidity of interpretations that evolve over time and the importance of context.
We explore how architects navigate the interplay between tradition and innovation, drawing upon historical precedents while thinking about the future, how adaptive reuse breathes new life into old structures and how architectural interventions honour a site’s cultural heritage.
We feature two iconic mid-century modernist houses, in Mexico City and Cincinnati, that have undergone transformations, but with a deep respect for each house’s rich history and significance. The Southern Californian language of architect Ray Kappe is translated into a contemporary home in Berlin, while a house on an island in the Baltic Sea is built to experience untamed nature.
South African-born architect and curator Sumayya Vally is a voice of the latest generation, and in this interview she emphasises the power of identity, belonging and cultural hybridity in shaping architecture outside conventional norms. We visit Hvitträsk, the early Finnish home of Eliel and Loja Saarinen, where creativity and community are radically entangled.
In our Case Studies, Pernille Vest explores furniture as objets d’art, crafted from rare noble wood, marked by time and expert hands. In Basel, a lesson in how to live and work with art delivered by two generations of the von Bartha family of gallerists.
In Design Metaphors, Ettore Sottsass used photography to explore the origins of architecture. Dung Ngo talks to Ana Elena Mallet, curator of an exhibition at MoMA on the design histories of Latin America, where craft and industry shaped hybrid identities.
And in our Portfolio we delve into how new ideas of utopia in architecture, design and art shaped a distinct Latin American version of modernity.'