L'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui

L'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui. Founded in 1930, the periodical became a central forum connecting figures from Bauhaus, Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Walter Gropius and institutions such as the École des Beaux-Arts, Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne and Union Internationale des Architectes. Through sustained engagement with practitioners linked to International Style, Modernisme, Brutalism, De Stijl and Constructivism, the magazine mediated debates involving André Malraux, Louis Sullivan, Mies van der Rohe, Alvar Aalto and cultural organizations like the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and the CIAM.

History

The journal emerged amid interwar networks connecting Paris, Berlin, Milan, Barcelona and Vienna and engaged with movements represented by Société des Beaux-Arts, Union des Artistes Modernes, Congrès internationaux d'architecture moderne and personalities such as Le Corbusier, André Malraux, Georges-Henri Pingusson and Auguste Perret. During World War II the periodical negotiated contexts shaped by events like the Battle of France and the Vichy regime, later reasserting ties with postwar reconstruction projects in Le Havre, Brasília, Saint-Étienne and collaborations involving Oscar Niemeyer, Pavel Golubkov and Gunnar Asplund. In the 1950s and 1960s it intersected with debates around Brutalism and urban planning schemes tied to Haussmannian legacies, collaborating with firms and figures connected to Paul Virilio, Jane Jacobs, Kenzo Tange and Jean Nouvel as city-making intensified across Paris, London and New York City.

Editorial Profile and Format

Editorial leadership linked the magazine to figures from the literary and policy worlds including André Malraux and networks reaching Ministère de la Culture (France), UNESCO and the Commission des monuments historiques. The periodical adopted formats similar to contemporary titles such as Architectural Review, Domus, Casabella and El Croquis, combining project monographs featuring offices like OMA, Foster + Partners, Herzog & de Meuron and SOM with critical essays by scholars engaged with institutions like Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Columbia University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Each issue typically juxtaposed photographic spreads by practitioners connected to Berenice Abbott, Lucien Hervé and Ezra Stoller with technical drawings referencing standards from Organisation internationale de normalisation and debates hosted at venues such as Pavillon de l'Arsenal.

Notable Contributors and Architects

Contributors included leading practitioners and critics affiliated with Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, Alvar Aalto, Oscar Niemeyer, Louis Kahn, Jean Nouvel, Renzo Piano, Rafael Moneo, Rem Koolhaas, Zaha Hadid, Tadao Ando, Santiago Calatrava, Norman Foster, Richard Rogers and theorists connected to Aldo Rossi, Manfredo Tafuri, Charles Jencks and Sigfried Giedion. The magazine published manifestos and project presentations by studios such as OMA, MVRDV, BIG, KPF and Atelier Jean Nouvel, and featured critical voices from journals like Oppositions, Arquitectura, Progressive Architecture and The Architectural Review. Photographers and illustrators associated with issues included names linked to exhibitions at MoMA, Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou and Victoria and Albert Museum.

Influence and Legacy

The periodical influenced pedagogies at École des Beaux-Arts, Bauhaus, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Bartlett School of Architecture and ETH Zurich, shaping curricula and discourses alongside organizations such as CIAM and UIA. Its pages contributed to debates on preservation exemplified by cases at Notre-Dame de Paris, Palace of Versailles and postwar reconstruction of Le Havre (UNESCO World Heritage), and to global dialogues including projects in Brasília, Chandigarh, Shanghai and Dubai. The magazine’s legacy persists in retrospective exhibitions at institutions like Centre Pompidou, MoMA, Victoria and Albert Museum and in scholarship from Getty Research Institute, Bibliothèque nationale de France and academic presses at Princeton University Press.

Publication Details and Circulation

Published in Paris since 1930, the magazine followed periodic schedules comparable to Architectural Review, Domus and Casabella, issuing special editions dedicated to city-focused dossiers on Paris, London, New York City, Rome and Tokyo, and thematic numbers addressing energy debates tied to Club of Rome and environmental policy discussions involving UNFCCC actors. Circulation intersected with distribution channels including libraries at Bibliothèque nationale de France, university collections at Columbia University, University of Cambridge and ETH Zurich, and archives such as Institut Français d'Architecture. The title collaborated with trade fairs and salons like Salon d'Automne, Paris Expo Porte de Versailles and events organized by Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine.

Category:Architecture magazines Category:French magazines Category:Publications established in 1930