About: #1
266 x 380 mm, 260 pages
Milan, Italy (Italian and English language)
Editor-in-chief: Alessandro Valenti
Art director: Kuchar Swara
This big, bold new magazine from the Italian branch of Hearst Magazines looks to harness an indie aesthetic, bringing in designer Kuschar Swara (previously of Port magazine) to oversee the design, alongside architect Alessandro Valenti, also in charge of editorial at Elle Decor.
It’s part of a major new initiative, a new platform for architecture with a website, social channels and events alongside the print biannual. The magazine mixes detailed case studies, featuring plenty of plans and drawings (a South London barbers shop, a Rwandan agricultural institute) with broader, more philosophical articles: ‘Investigating the Spaces and Spectres of Misery’, and ‘Collections as Collective Actions’, for instance.
Full-page photography and bold typography fill the large pages and, along with the wide range of stories, make About: an exciting new addition to the architecture shelf.