How to Submit Work for Publication (2024)

The editors of Architectural Record welcome the submission of your work for consideration. Though we receive a considerable volume of unsolicited work, we make an effort to review every project submitted and offer a broad range of opportunities for publication.

Please review both our editorial calendar, linked in the footer of this website, and the broad recommendations for submitting materials below before contacting the appropriate editor, as listed in the table below.

General Recommendations

Read the magazine and study its various parts so you understand what kinds of stories we run. We recommend reading a year’s worth of issues, since many special sections and themed issues occur on a semi-annual or annual basis. If you wish your project to be evaluated as a general feature, make sure it ranks among those you’ve seen in recent issues of RECORD. Keep in mind that, internationally, only 100 projects per year make it to the pages of Architectural Record. It is better to be realistic at the outset than disappointed by unfounded expectations.

Submit complete materials electronically. Editors use a roundtable format to review submissions, evaluate each project's design characteristics, and discuss possible story angles. To streamline our review, please send high-resolution professional photography, narrative, and contact information via an electronic transfer platform such as Dropbox or WeTransfer. Alternatively, send us an e-mail with a link to where we can find images. See above for the list of the appropriate editor for each topic. Hard-copy submissions are discouraged.

We will not consider material that is submitted to several publications simultaneously, with the exception of books for review, exhibitions, news, and products. In committing a project for publication as a feature, we request exclusive first publication among print and digital design publications.

We do not publish unsolicited manuscripts. We also discourage materials written by second-party ghostwriters or PR firms. Please also note that if you send unsolicited materials, we cannot be responsible for their condition, acknowledging their receipt, or returning them. The vast majority of feature articles in this magazine are written by staff or by regular freelance contributors.

Try to present the reasons your project should be of interest to our readers, and clearly present your ideas in a short, direct narrative. Avoid flowery, inflated descriptions; the project will speak for itself. Target your inquiry letter by explaining why your submission should interest our readers, explaining where you think your story or project might fit in, and send it to the appropriate editor, as listed in the table below. Remember that projects must be current or recently completed. We are constantly on the lookout for good material to fill the regular sections of our magazine, such as Record News, our monthly Building Types Study, practice issues, and our technology sections.

Sections of the Magazine

Record News Was your firm awarded a commission that is newsworthy? Are you breaking ground on an interesting building or opening one soon? Are you managing a major competition? If so, direct your press materials to the news editor. New work must offer an interesting storyline—what is it that makes your particular building stand out? Please note that RECORD does not publish personnel changes or information about office relocations.

Building Types Study Each month the magazine and website feature projects of a certain type (see our editorial calendar, linked in the footer of this website). If you wish to submit your project for consideration in one of these building categories, direct your inquiry to the editor whose name is referenced in the table below. Please submit projects for potential publication six months in advance of the date the building type is to be published.

Product Briefs If you are a manufacturer of building products and have an interesting product to showcase, you should direct your inquiry to ArchRecordProducts@bnpmedia.com. If possible, product submissions should be sent three months prior to introduction to the market. Priority is given to previously unpublished products. We accept press releases via e-mail and regular mail. For e-mailed releases, please send only low-res images or a link to high-res images and include the text as both an attachment and in the body of the e-mail. For regular mailed releases, include color photos or a thumb drive/CD with high-res images and a labeled color printout of the product(s). Please include a short release (no longer than a page) describing the product’s characteristics and advantages. Please make it clear on the press release where and to whose attention reader service inquiries should be directed. We ask publicists who wish to follow up on the status of their materials to do so via e-mail and not by phone.

Technology, Lighting, and Digital Practice If your project has used building technology, lighting, or digital technology in a particularly interesting way, you may direct your inquiry to the editors who oversee those areas, as indicated in the table below.

Design Vanguard, Record Houses and Record Interiors Watch our Call for Entries section for information on submitting your projects to these annual features.

If the project is accepted for publication, the editor will let you know what is expected for production purposes. Projects need to be professionally photographed and drawings, which must include a scale and north arrow, should be editable PDFs or EPS illustrator Vector files. For publication, we require a minimum of 300 dpi, 4 by 5 inches minimum-sized images and drawings with no tones, no furnishings, and no labels, Mac compatible—no CAD files please. Clear, well-exposed photos of models also print well. For online publication, the editors will let you know what is expected.