[Nettime-nl] De basis van Archis

["Han Speckens" <Persgal@casema.net>]

-----
nettimers,

ook al is het een nederlands architectuur tijdschrift, in de internationale
context van architectuur en archis in het bijzonder is deze oproep in het
engels. het betreft de herschikking van het bladenaanbod door elsevier
waardoor dit kritisch maandblad mogelijk vanaf 2001 niet meer zal
verschijnen......

Dear friends,

By reading this message about the Dutch magazine Archis you might have the
same feelings of disbelief and astonishment !!
Any reactions or support on behalf of the editor-in-chief, Ole Bouman, and
his entire crew can be left at the e-mail address archis@nai.nl, or fax
(+31-(0)10-4364324).

Your support would surely help !!
Martine
__________________________________________________________________


Beste vrienden en medewerkers van Archis,
Dear affiliates of Archis,

        Since this letter is addressed to all of our friends, colleagues
and collaborators worldwide, I am writing it in English.

        You may have been under the impression that Archis, magazine for
architecture, the city and visual culture, is alive and kicking. Well it
may have seemed that way, but I fear that the end is in sight. Last week,
the board and the director of the Netherlands Architecture Institute, which
owns the name, announced that Archis would cease publication at the end of
the year. Although the decision is not yet final, we cannot wait and must
act now to secure Archis' role as an independent medium for reflection on
architecture and space. Archis is more than a magazine. It stands for a
critical attitude and a strong desire for innovation. As such it has an
essential role to play in the international landscape of the architectural
press. It should not be extinguished.

        To give an impression of what has happened during the past year, I
would like you to consider the following:

a)      Some time ago our publisher, Elsevier, dramatically changed its
policy. A magazine that considered architecture to be a cultural medium and
was addressed to a wider audience, didn't fit into a portfolio of titles
geared to the building industry. This tension became all the more visible
when profit margin criteria were tightened. Elsevier drew the logical
conclusions and announced that it was not renewing the contract as of 2001.
Although still officially responsible for Archis, its interest in the
magazine has been rapidly dwindling since then.
b)      Until a month ago there were promising negotiations in progress
with a new publisher. These were suddenly cut off due to an error, on their
part, in the calculations. The NAi then decided to drop Archis altogether,
with no prospect of a future for it.
c)      During the past few weeks I have met with substantial support from
all sides of the profession and beyond. This confirms our belief that
Archis can and must survive. That is why we are even now engaging in
discussion with the NAi and the Ministry of Culture on how to proceed
should we become independent.

For this strategy to succeed, we need your commitment as friends and
colleagues. Please send us your views by E-mail or fax (+31-(0)10-4364324).

I will keep you posted on our future moves.

And move we shall!



Ole Bouman
Editor-in-chief




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