Ark Journal

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 XII from the publisher:

'Home and design are the twin themes weaving through the latest edition of Ark Journal. Volume XII considers the connections between home – a source of comfort, shelter and inspiration – and design, not just the structures and objects but also the immaterial, the atmospheres and sense of belonging that shape our daily lives and our society.

Central elements are the materials, craftsmanship and traditions that are integrated into modern design to instil meaning and authenticity. We explore how design influences emotions and behaviour by creating intimate and thoughtful spaces that nurture creativity and contemplation.  

Among the homes we visit are a New York townhouse that preserves a Danish sensibility, and a brutalist concrete house set among trees in Antwerp that tells a noir-ish story. Two apartments in Berlin, both centred around art, reflect very different lives and interventions, while an austere home of shadows and light in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, mirrors the landscape and the city through materials.
For Japanese fashion visionary Jun Takahashi, his studio/home is where he cultivates the concepts of chaos and balance that pervade his runway collections, his art and his new furniture designs. 

Other stories include: an interview with Paola Antonelli, the provocative senior curator of architecture and design at MoMA; the future of collectible design; the watercolours of Ylva Carlgren; the vernacular chair; and Case Studies by Pernille Vest.'