We continue our series “Architecture from the couch”. After Diego Baloain in Santiago de Chile and Sebastian Beck in São Paulo, we are moving on to the United Kingdom.
Next up are our Guiding Architects partner Anna Jens and Frauke Larsson from GA London in London.
The majority of us are currently sitting in our home offices and thus have no opportunity to explore the world. So we thought we bring the world to you. For this purpose we have asked our partners from Guiding Architects a few questions about the current situation.
Read their answers here and get a few tips on how the situation is dealt with in other countries and what you can see from home.
Architecture from the couch: tips from Anna Jens and Frauke Larsson
1. what is the situation like in your city?
London and the UK have been in lockdown since 23 March – relatively late compared to other countries and London has been hit quite hard due to a very underfunded health system. Unfortunately, our government did not take the virus very seriously at first, so our Prime Minister, as you know, ended up in intensive care.
Apart from the vital shops like supermarkets and pharmacies, everything is closed and you are not allowed to leave the house or travel unnecessarily. Especially for the poor and homeless the situation is very hard.
Anna Jens © a-tour
2. how do you look into the future?
It’s hard to say at the moment, but it’s unlikely that things will return to normal in the foreseeable future – because the government has been so slow to react and doesn’t carry out many tests. The numbers are skyrocketing at the moment and it is likely that London will soon be the European epicentre.
As far as our business is concerned, it’s hard to say, obviously there are no tours taking place at the moment and in the foreseeable future – not a good time to start!
Architecture from the couch: tips from Anna Jens and Frauke Larsson
3. What could be viewed digitally in your city (museum, gallery, archive)?
Most museums offer some kind of free online exhibition, please see below:
Tate Modern
National Gallery
British Museum
Museum of Architecture © a-tour
4. name a positive initiative from your city, which has been created due to the current situation?
If anything, I think the government and everyone else sees the essential jobs differently – especially the NHS (National Health Service) and it’s nice that there’s a lot of solidarity.
5. give us 1 tip for an architecture book and/or a documentary on architecture and/or movie and/or podcast that you have enjoyed recently?
A nice podcast focusing on British architecture and British architects, but also architecture theory. Or the Bartlett International Lecture Series (12-13, 13-14) with some interesting entrances