Kerstin Sailer
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kerstinsailer.bsky.social
Kerstin Sailer
@kerstinsailer.bsky.social
1.7K followers 1K following 570 posts
Professor in the Sociology of Architecture at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. Founder of brainybirdz. Blogger. Speaker. Long Covid disability advocate.
Love books, food, photography, data visualisation, art.
Also @kerstinsailer@sciences.social
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kerstinsailer.bsky.social
Last week, we discussed school buildings. Students made a sketch (from memory) of the secondary school they attended.
So many great examples from all over the world - from a small school in Chile boasting a slide from classrooms to playground all the way to a large Silicon Valley campus
Series of hand-drawn sketches of school buildings all around the world Series of hand-drawn sketches of school buildings all around the world
November 20, 2025 at 12:46 PM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
#FotoVorschlag 'Texturen'
Close up of a weathered brick wall in anthracite, red, orange and yellow colours, showing deep ridges and gaps. At one point a little green plant grows out of the depths of the wall
November 14, 2025 at 10:01 PM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
Beautiful photo! 💙
I've seen a kingfisher in North London on the New River canal last year - it was truly magical. Sadly I've only got a mobile phone shot
Kingfisher perched on a railing in front of a brick wall
November 14, 2025 at 9:56 PM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
A bit late to the snailposting party but here we are...

#art #pencilDrawing
Drawing of a snail from above that makes its way through green grass. The snail is broken down onto triangles and coloured so that no two adjacent areas are in the same hues. Polychromos and fine liner on white paper
November 10, 2025 at 10:02 PM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
#FotoVorschlag 'Perspektivwechsel'
Shift of perspective

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona (1999)
View from a balcony of one of the towers of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona down onto another balcony, from which two other tourists, dressed in white t-shirts are taking pictures of the city from above. Some Barcelona buildings in the background.
October 16, 2025 at 12:38 PM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
#FotoVorschlag 'Perspektivwechsel'
Shift of perspective

Piazza del Campo, Siena
View from the Campanile in Siena down onto the Piazza del Campo - one of the balustrades further down the tower is visible at the bottom of the image. Across the square with its fan-shaped design in light red stone, many smaller and larger groups of people are dotted around
October 16, 2025 at 12:34 PM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
'Das Unsichtbare sichtbar machen'
#FotoVorschlag
Dass ich #LongCovid habe, sieht man mir nicht an. Aber Maske und Sonnenblumenumhänger machen das Unsichtbare vielleicht etwas sichtbarer
Selfie in front of a Eurostar train at St Pancras Station: I'm a blond woman wearing glasses, a face mask with blue floral pattern, a sunflower lanyard (for invisible disabilities) and a light green tank top
October 10, 2025 at 4:10 PM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
Really enjoyed participating in the DGNet (Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Netzwerkforschung) conference in Bayreuth - thanks to Christian Stegbauer and Iris Clemens for the kind invite to give a keynote and for the warm welcome

#SocialNetwork #SocialNetworkAnalysis #ArchitecturalResearch
Title slide of my keynote talk entitled "Netzwerke im Raum - Raumstrukturen als Netzwerke". The photo in the background shows a summer party at a research institute with several groups of people dotted around a large foyer with a staircase, talking in small groups
October 10, 2025 at 2:49 PM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
Sieht man hier vielleicht nochmal besser, wenn auch Leute mit drauf sind
Central Foyer of the V&A Storehouse, surrounded by three floors of shelves storing all sorts of artefacts. Lots of people in the centre
October 8, 2025 at 4:13 PM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
'(Hoch)Stapelei' #FotoVorschlag
In the V&A Storehouse in East London, diverse artefacts are piled high in shelves. A Chinese vase in the foreground, several pieces of intricate wooden furniture in the background
October 8, 2025 at 3:36 PM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
Markgräfisches Opernhaus, Bayreuth

What a building!

#Architecture
A wooden stair with beautiful carvings leads to the upper ranks of the Opera House. The stairs are rather narrow and were mainly used by servants bringing refreshments to the nobility Upper ranks at the side of the baroque Opera House with beautiful wood carvings and chandeliers Front stage of the Opera House including 3D painted scenery. Three people stand on the stage, all with their back to the audience, admiring the delicate art of the stage Detail of a golden statue on top of a richly carved column - we only see a pair of feet dangling in the air
October 8, 2025 at 3:23 PM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
'Blick aus deinem Fenster'
Die Dächer Nordlondons
#FotoVorschlag
Very dramatic sunset over silhouetted rooftops. The sky ranges from yellow and orange to light blue and grey. A series of clouds are dotted across the sky, painted by the setting sun in pink and purple hues
September 28, 2025 at 7:21 PM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
Love red pandas!
Drawing of a red panda grabbing bamboo leaves and stuffing them into it's mouth. Polychromos coloured pencils on white paper
September 20, 2025 at 10:34 AM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
'Glitzer' #FotoVorschlag
A mannequin of a department store with no clothes on and instead completely covered in tiny disco ball mirrors. Some other disco balls surround the figure. Several silver pieces of kitchen equipment like colanders and an egg-beater are draped around. All very shiny and glittery.
September 14, 2025 at 1:32 PM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
More architectural gems at the V&A East Storehouse: the Kaufmann office designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

#architecture #museum
A large wooden desk with two armchairs either side of it inside an intricate wood panelled office
August 30, 2025 at 5:47 PM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
Some more architectural gems from the V&A East Storehouse: a piece of facade of Robin Hood Gardens, a post-war social housing project in London designed by the Smithsons
More info on the project:
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_H...

#Architecture #museum #SocialHousing
Two pieces of concrete façade hang off the balustrade of two floors of the foyer of the V&A East Storehouse
August 30, 2025 at 5:44 PM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
Had so much fun today at the V & A East Storehouse in London - a spectacular museum and public display of their stored items.
Marvellous exhibits inside great architecture
View from the top floor into the main hall of the V&A East Storehouse - a rectangular foyer framed by walkways with all sorts of exhibits on display. Lots of people are dotted around the place A Chinese vase painted in bold colours on a display shelf - five floors of shelves and items of furniture in the background Two dragon-like beasts, painted in bold colours of turquoise and yellow on a shelf with two wooden chairs on shelves in the background
August 30, 2025 at 5:26 PM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
'Türgriffe' #FotoVorschlag
U-shaped door handles at University College London for a double door in dark wood with glass panels (we can glimpse inside). Each door handle has a small metal sculpture at its centre, which holds the door lever on top of their heads, on the left a naked woman, on the right a naked man, both in classicist style. To open the door you have to grab the naked body in the centre
August 27, 2025 at 9:56 AM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
'Sonnenuntergang oder Sonnenaufgang' #FotoVorschlag

Seehausen am Staffelsee

Hochformat - portrait shot
Bright red skies above black hills reflected on the rippled surface of the Staffelsee. Two small boats in silhouettes. All colours in flamboyant red, orange, taupe and black
July 24, 2025 at 11:39 AM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
'Sakrale Bauten' #FotoVorschlag
St Olaf's Church in Tallinn, Estonia
View down a street in Tallinn leading directly to the bell tower of St Olaf's Church, standing tall with its white walls and green roof reaching up high into the blue sky
July 17, 2025 at 8:53 PM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
'Tiere (ohne Hund und Katze)'

Schlafender Fuchs bei uns im Garten, mitten in Nordlondon

#FotoVorschlag
A fox is lying in the sunshine on a patch of green grass, curled up and eyes closed, dozing peacefully
July 5, 2025 at 10:25 AM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
TFW your #Sunbelt2025 experience is glorious already - connecting with old friends, meeting new faces, learning about cool science - but then the architectural settings are just spectacular
Well played, Paris 😎
View up to the ornate ceiling of the entrance hall of the Grand Amphitheatre de Sorbonne A marble staircase leads up to the second floor of the entrance hall of the Grand Amphitheatre de Sorbonne including an ornate tessellated ceiling and a cast iron lantern on the side. Dark wall paintings in the background Side view of the Grand Amphitheatre de Sorbonne as people wanting to listen to the conference keynote are filing in View from the 24th floor of the tower Zamansky on Sorbonne campus with spectacular views of the Seine, Notre Dame cathedral and Sacre Coeur in the background. Sunny skies with some clouds make the urban fabric of Paris shine
June 28, 2025 at 7:23 AM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
I'm using Bird Net and am beginning to recognise frequent garden visitors now without the app (robins, blackbirds)
Caught this jay in the garden a few weeks ago and was giddily excited
A jay perching on a worn and slightly tatty garden fence, looking over it's left. Bright green leaves in the background
June 21, 2025 at 9:07 PM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
My own #Sunbelt2025 talk will be on Saturday 28th July (10am local time, room 112 - in case you're there 👋🏻) and will discuss space usage processes in buildings as a two-mode network between people and spaces (see the slide alt text for more info)

#SocialNetworkAnalysis
First two slides of my Sunbelt conference talk entitled "Analysing space usage processes through a dual network lens" The first one (top) has a background photo with people sitting, standing and chatting in the foyer of a research building with a large central staircase. A group of three is overlaid with orange silhouettes and black dots with connections between them to highlight a network relationship. The second slide (bottom) cites Ron Breigers 1974 paper on network duality and shows a series of black silhouettes connected to calender icons to symbolise event attendance of women. This is transferred to space by showing the silhouettes in colour alongside a floor plan with coloured traces for the paths they might travel
June 21, 2025 at 2:58 PM
kerstinsailer.bsky.social
Love your style!
Here are some of my bird drawings
Pencil drawing of a puffin with fish in its break, standing on a rocky surface with some moss. The bird is split into triangles so that every adjacent area is coloured in a different hue Pencil drawing of a lady ross turaco, sitting on a branch and looking over across its body to the left. The bird is split into triangles so that every adjacent area is coloured in a different hue Pencil drawing of a piping plover, striding along the beach. The bird is split into triangles so that every adjacent area is coloured in a different hue Pencil drawing of a lazuli bunting, perched on a branch. The bird is split into triangles so that every adjacent area is coloured in a different hue
June 9, 2025 at 2:50 PM