The Architectural Review was founded as a monthly magazine, the Architectural Review for the Artist and Craftsman, in 1896 by Percy Hastings, owner of the Architectural Press. In 1927 his third son, Hubert de Cronin Hastings, became joint editor of both the Architectural Review and the Architects' Journal, a weekly. Together they made substantial changes to the aims and style of the review, which became a general arts magazine with an architectural emphasis. Contributors from other artistic fields were brought in, among them Hilaire Belloc, Robert Byron, Cyril Connolly, D.H. Lawrence, Paul Nash, Nikolaus Pevsner, P. Morton Shand, Osbert and Sacheverell Sitwell, and Evelyn Waugh. John Betjeman was an assistant editor from 1930 to 1934. The editorial board included Pevsner, Hugh Casson, Osbert Lancaster and James Maude Richards. The design of the review was innovative, with bold use of layout, typefaces and photographs; graphic elements were commissioned from Eric Gill and Edward Bawden. The articles on European Modernist architecture by P. Morton Shand published from July 1934 were among the earliest in Britain on the subject. By about 1935 the magazine had acquired a leading position in the discourse surrounding Modernism. The journal was influential after the Second World War in raising awareness of "townscape", partly through regular articles by assistant editor Gordon Cullen, author of several books on the subject. In January 2017, title ownerAscential announced its intention to sell 13 titles including Architectural Review; the 13 "heritage titles" were to be "hived off into a separate business while buyers are sought." It was one of 13 titles acquired from Ascential by Metropolis International in a £23.5m cash deal, announced on 1 June 2017. The Architectural Review remains in print, published ten times per year, while its online version is updated daily.
Notable people
Dariush Borbor – former correspondent and contributor 1960s to 1980s
Henry Wilson – first editor 1896–1901
John Betjeman – assistant editor, 1930 to 1934
James Maude Richards – co-editor or editor, 1935 to 1971, excluding the war years
Nikolaus Pevsner – acting editor 1943 to 1945 and member of editorial board 1945 to 1970
