Three magazines that take an enquiring approach to design, these small and fascinating titles are interested in why the world is built the way it is. All three have a strong grounding in architecture and the built environment, using it as the launchpad for journeys into three very different worlds.

The Modernist issue 34

RRP £7.00 | 24 pages | Published in Manchester

The Modernist is a quarterly printed publication about 20th-century modernist architecture and design. Combining critical writing with more impassioned obsessions, this issue stops to wonder at, amongst other things, the often overlooked beauty of bus stops, bins and cooling towers.

Mono Kultur issue 48

RRP £5.00 | 44 pages | Published in Berlin

This issue of Mono Kultur features a long interview with Eyal Weizman, founder of Forensic Architecture, the research agency that brings together architects, lawyers, scientists and designers to devise ingenious ways of investigating human rights violations.

Real Review issue 10

RRP £9.00 | 156 pages | Published in London

Real Review is a quarterly contemporary culture magazine exploring “what it means to live today”. This issue is themed ‘The Renaissance’ and features an interview with His Holiness Pope Francis on the commodification of our souls, while photographer Stephen Shore reviews pictures of the present, and artist Issy Wood reviews Diet Coke.