Architecture monthly seeks name

IT WAS to have been called The Architecture Magazine. But the Prince of Wales, his Institute of Architecture and publishers have yet to find a catchy title for the monthly magazine they plan to launch next March, writes Jonathan Glancey. devoted to the issues and concerns raised by the Prince over the past 10 years.

Designed to bridge the gap between the world that architects create and the buildings most people would like to look at and live in, the magazine with no name has been in the offing for many months. It was announced officially yesterday.

Wordsearch Publishing, the outfit chosen by the Prince of Wales Institute of Architecture to produce the magazine, on its behalf is awaiting a report from SRU, a market research company led by Peter York, the one-time Harpers & Queen style pundit. The report which will settle the issue of the name; Carbuncle is unlikely to be a contender. one of the contenders.

The magazine's editor, Dan Cruickshank, who is setting up office in Georgian rooms in Marylebone, says the new title the magazine 'will seek to build a bridge between architects and laymen and break down the boundary between history and modernity.' Cruickshank He promises to offer 'practical information on the authentic decoration of houses, discuss landscape and gardens and promote green issues in architecture'. The aim, the publisher's publicists say, is to 'work towards achieving what the Prince of Wales has called an 'architecture of the heart and soul' '.

Pre-launch dummies of the magazine reveal a format slightly larger than normal page size designed in an appropriately Classical style - computerised versions of eighteenth century typefaces and plenty of white space.

Wordsearch Publishing hopes to achieve a circulation of 35,000, with a price of pounds 2.50. The magazine is a strictly commercial venture, although the Prince of Wales Institute for Architecture has put up the initial funding. 'It will reflect a catholic view of architecture', says Mr Cruickshank says: 'It won't be the personal mouthpiece of the Prince of Wales, but will represent many of his concerns.'