Architectural History

Architectural History, the Society's principal publication - published annually since 1958 - is sent to all members and to subscribing libraries around the world. It is a double-blind, peer-reviewed, internationally-respected journal that publishes significant original and interpretive research on buildings, the built environment, the history of architectural theory, and architectural historiography, in all places and periods. Articles in Architectural History are intended to be rigorous, analytical, and, although closely focused, to contextualize their subject and explore its relevance in relation to wider issues concerning the history and understanding of architecture.

  • The Society is pleased to announce publication of ​Volume 66 of Architectural History in November 2023.

    As in previous issues, the topics covered range widely both in period — from eleventh-century monastic buildings to National Health Service hospitals – and geography, taking in China and the United States as well as Italy, France, Britain and Ireland. A major innovation in this volume is a review article, bringing to the attention of readers — and hence the discipline in the UK — an area hitherto given inadequate attention. Further strengthening the journal’s global coverage, the review article is entitled ‘Latin American Architectural History: Reading between the Lines, Opening Opportunities’.

    Following the innovation made last year of ‘Shorter Notices’ — articles focused for example on an archival discovery, as opposed to the full-scale treatment of a subject provided by regular articles — volume 66 contains four Shorter Notices, with subjects ranging from fifteenth-century Italy (the Palazzo Comunale in Montepulciano) to nineteenth-century Britain (John Britton’s denunciation of John Soane). Topics explored in other articles include the role of women in construction and urban development in the eighteenth century; level changes in the country houses of James Wyatt; the construction of the first Christian church in Shanghai; the planning of the University of Chicago; and — the winner of the Society’s Hawksmoor Prize 2022 — the post-war housing estate of Park Hill in Sheffield.

    Also included are no fewer than eighteen in-depth book reviews authored by leading scholars from the UK and overseas. Topics range from early religious shrines in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, through the seventeenth-century developer of London Nicholas Barbon, to the Edwardian baroque revival and neorealist architecture in post-war Italy.

    The editor of Architectural History, Mark Swenarton, commented:

    ‘The latest volume continues to set the agenda for the discipline, with scholars from Europe, Asia and the Americas presenting ground-breaking research on a wide range of issues and ideas. Alongside architecture as product, we have architecture as process, in Britain and in colonial contexts; and alongside the journal’s longstanding strengths in western architecture, there is now also the global south, represented by Latin America. With articles examining projects ranging from the canonic to the virtually unknown, the new volume of Architectural History offers unique insights into some of the latest developments in the discipline — as well as reappraisals of some long-cherished treasures.’

  • Editor: Dr Emily Mann

    Executive Editor: Dr Alborz Dianat

    Deputy Editors: Prof Sussan Babaie, Prof Alex Bremner, Dr Felipe Hernández, Prof Maurice Howard, Dr Shona Kallestrup, Prof Barbara Penner, Dr Robert Proctor, Prof Mark Swenarton, Prof Ola Uduku, Dr Lynne Walker 

    Book Reviews Editors: Prof Fabrizio Nevola (pre-1750 topics), Prof Neil Jackson (post-1750 topics)

  • Guido Beltramini (CISA Andrea Palladio, Italy),

    Swati Chemburkar (Jnanapravaha Institute, India),

    Maarten Delbeke (ETH Zürich, Switzerland),

    Nnamdi Elleh (University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa),

    Ute Engel (Martin-Luther-Universität, Germany),

    Philip Goad (University of Melbourne, Australia),

    Thomas Howe (Southwestern University, USA),

    Mary McLeod (Columbia University, USA),

    Konrad Ottenheym (Utrecht University, The Netherlands),

    Nancy Steinhardt (University of Pennsylvania, USA),

    Nancy Stieber (University of Massachusetts, USA)

Publish with Us

  • The Editorial Board welcomes submissions of original research for publication. Architectural History is a double-blind peer-reviewed journal, with an international reach, and a reputation for supportive and rigorous editorial processes. First-time authors, including post-graduate students, are welcome to submit work.  You do not need to be a member to publish with us. 

    The journal features substantial articles of up to 12,000 words, and we put great emphasis on the quality of the feedback and input provided by our anonymous peer reviewers and by our dedicated editorial team. Standards of production and distribution are second to none, with full-colour printing of images throughout and simultaneous online and hard-copy publication. 

    In recent years, the journal has been broadening its scope. While retaining its focus on historic British and European architecture, we have increasingly sought articles on post-war and contemporary topics and on architecture in all its global contexts. We seek to exemplify architectural history as an international discipline, reflecting developments abroad as much as at home.  Overall the aim is to make the journal a showcase for the best research from across the globe.

    The journal now accepts submissions on a year-round basis, with the aim of providing readers' reports and a decision to publish within three months of receipt. Submissions received by 15 September will be considered for publication the following year. Details of how to submit are contained in the Notes for Contributors document. Prospective contributors are welcome to contact the Editorial Board in advance of submission. Please email journal@sahgb.org.uk.

    Architectural History is REF compliant. A ‘Green’ Open Access policy is in place for the journal which automatically allows authors to archive their Accepted Manuscripts in institutional repositories, on personal web pages and in subject repositories, without an embargo period. More information is outlined on the  Cambridge Journals Online webpages. 

  • We feature a substantial reviews section for publications. If you would like to review a book for us, or if you would like to submit a publication for review, please email journal@sahgb.org.uk.  Our Book Reviews Policy can be found here.

  • Please review this document for submission guidance.

For Readers and Subscribers

Architectural History provides all students of the discipline with original research published by leaders in their fields and specialisms. While showcasing the latest findings and approaches to the histories of the built environment, it is also an archive of seminal research and writing over six decades of publication on a wide range of topics. 

Members of the SAHGB receive a free copy of each new issue of Architectural History. ​Volume 66 was published November 2023; view its contents here.  

All issues of Architectural History from 2012 and earlier are available for consultation via JSTOR, which is free through subscribing institutions. The titles of all articles published in Architectural History are listed in the RIBA Library catalogue, which hosts the RIBA’s Architectural Periodicals Index (API) and which is freely and publicly accessible. The Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals, produced by Columbia University and the Getty Research Institute, also catalogues all articles in Architectural History. It is available through subscribing institutions. The first 46 volumes (up to 2003) of Architectural History were catalogued by the late Prof Andor Gomme,  a former Chair of the Society and Editor of the journal, and are available here to download as searchable PDF files:

Authors Index
Institutional Periodicals Index
Places Index
Persons Index

The Girouard Fund for Publications

The Girouard Fund for Publications is being established by the SAHGB from Autumn 2023, in memory of one of Britain’s greatest architectural historians. Consider making a donation.