We continue our series “Architecture from the couch”. After Bo Christiansen from Copenhagen / Malmö started it, we are now heading to the Netherlands.
Second, our Guiding Architects partner Anneke Bokern from architour in Amsterdam / Rotterdam reports.
The majority of us are currently sitting in our home offices and thus have no opportunity to explore the world. 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 Anneke Bokern:
1. what is the situation like in your city?
There are fewer confirmed infections in the Netherlands than in most countries, but there is not much testing either. The death toll is actually quite high. Most cases are in the south of the country, where the skiing holidays ended late and many returnees brought the virus with them from northern Italy. By and large, the Dutch are quite fearless – sometimes too much so. Last weekend there was bright sunshine here, and people drove to the beaches in hordes, where many did not respect the distance rules. The receipt came last night when the government issued a ban on assembly until 1 June. Restaurants will also have to stay closed until then. Those who do not comply will pay hefty fines. Accordingly, the mood is now rather grim.
Anneke Bokern © architour
2. how do you look into the future?
I’d rather not get into prophecies. Two weeks ago I thought that everything would go relatively smoothly and was therefore quite wrong. I hope above all that we don’t cause an economic crisis and that life will be relatively normal again.
Architecture from the couch: tips from Anneke Bokern
3. What could be viewed digitally in your city (museum, gallery, archive)?
All major museums in Amsterdam – Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh, Stedelijk – now offer online guided tours of the collection.
The collection of the Boijmans Museum in Rotterdam can also be viewed as a 360° tour. But this is not due to Corona, but because the museum is closed anyway due to reconstruction.
How progressive Dutch museums are in the digital processing of works of art can also be seen (independently from Corona) at the Mauritshuis in The Hague. This online exhibition on Carel Fabritius’ “Goldfinch” is technically and editorially really insanely well done.
EYE Film Institute and Adam Turm © architour
4. name a positive initiative from your city, which has been created due to the current situation?
The ‘Support Your Locals‘ box: This is a food box with products from small manufacturers who are suffering from the crisis and the lockdown because they otherwise mainly supply the catering trade.
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? Matching the quarantine: Xavier de Maistre, Voyage autour de ma chambre (The journey around my room), e.g. as podcast here.