A Day in London With Architecture and Design Journalist Harriet Thorpe

Harriet Thorpe is a writer, journalist and editor based in London and covering architecture, design, urbanism and culture. Previous to working freelance she worked as Assistant Architecture Editor at Wallpaper* where she interviewed architects such as Francis Kéré, Yvonne Farrell & Shelley McNamara, and Norman Foster. She has contributed to publications such as Monocle, Porter magazine and The Guardian. Harriet’s day involves some time on her London balcony, a swim in the Zaha Hadid Aquatic Center, and the “late shift.” Follow Harriet on Instagram at @harriet_thorpe.

6:30am: My radio alarm goes off at 06:30. I like listening to the news while I’m half asleep. Sometimes it will really wake me up, other days I just want to tell them to give it a rest. After about 15 minutes I’ll make coffee. My bedroom has a big east facing window and overlooks a park. I appreciate the morning light and changing colours of nature everyday. In the Summer I sit outside on the balcony and read something for 20 minutes while I drink my coffee, but now it’s really Autumn I stay in bed – all this is my favourite time of the day.

8:00am: You may have guessed, I’m a morning person. Now I’m working freelance, after leaving my job as Assistant Architecture Editor at Wallpaper* magazine a month ago, I can sculpt my day a bit better to the way I like to work. I have to admit, I tend to work from my sofa, where I’ll sit with another coffee – and another guilty admission, no breakfast. Recently I’ve been working on some projects such as research for the beautifully designed city architecture maps by Blue Crow Media, and writing a feature about a new project in Antwerp by Belgian interior designer Marc Merckx for lifestyle magazine AKT.

12:00pm: It’s quite alienating working from home sometimes, specially after working with so many lively people at Wallpaper*. These days, when I desire a distraction, I’ll catch up with a talk online. It doesn’t quite compare to laughing out loud over a cup of tea in the Wallpaper* kitchen, but one of the few good things about lockdown is that listening to the best brains in the industry is now more accessible and informal than ever.

Pre-pandemic, I would head to a midweek talk at the Barbican or Royal Academy in the evening, now I just tune into an Instagram live with Tatiana Bilbao in Mexico or Fala Atelier in Portugal while I’m throwing together a salad for lunch. When I say ‘throwing’ it’s really quite literal – I’m very careless in the kitchen, I make a mess and pick up a small injury weekly. At the moment I’ve found a sweet salad spot with avocado, tomato, butter beans, miso, cashew nuts and spinach.

Alternatively I’ll schedule a call around this time or head out for a lunch catch up with an architect, PR or collaborator. This week I caught up with ACAN, Architects Climate Action Network, on a group Zoom. They’re an organisation of creative and proactive architects making change and empowering individuals through political campaigning, direct action and knowledge sharing. I love the solitary nature of writing, but writing is the summary of a research process that relies on networks, people and observation, this activity is what really motivates me.

2:00pm: I grew up swimming nearly everyday, so it feels very much part of my life. I live near to the Olympic swimming pool designed by Zaha Hadid, so I often go for an hour swim during the day. As well as swimming itself, I appreciate the architecture every time – the sweeping curves, the epic concrete diving boards and the cool turquoise atmosphere that descends as you enter. I like to test how far I can swim under water while holding my breath – my record is 30m. Doing this makes me feel weightless and care-free, kind of like flying maybe?!

3:30pm: I tend to get out and about in the afternoon. When I worked at Wallpaper* I was out of the office a lot and travelling around twice a month to meet architects and visit buildings across the world. I miss travelling a lot. I have always been aware of the privilege of travelling as a journalist – to be exposed to alternative ways of life, opinions and ideas so frequently. But not being able to travel has also made me realise how much I enjoy even the mundane aspects of it – the planning, the early starts, the airports, the in-between moments, taking a wrong turn, improvising. On a work trip, the story is all-consuming – every observation and conversation counts. It’s hard to tap into that state of mind while working from home and surrounded by familiarity.

I’m very lucky that London is brimming with fascinating stories, people and buildings, so I can keep feeding my work – and need for adventure. I recently visited the Floating Church designed by Denizen Works in Hackney Wick. ‘Genesis’ is a temporary church on a canal boat, designed to gauge the spiritual needs of the community before a permanent church is built. There are 1500 new homes planned for the area, and no community buildings in the masterplan to serve them. The clean, practical and elegant design reflects some of the more contemporary purposes of a church – like being a place to meet neighbours.

5:00pm: My life is quite East London-centric so I tend to cycle to meetings. I’m from Cambridge where everyone cycles everywhere, so when I first moved to London to study at 20 years old, I fearlessly continued. After months of getting lost all the time, I ended up memorising the city map. I must admit though, it’s not the most reliable map, and I usually add at least 10 extra minutes to any journey time. When I’m heading home as dusk sets in, people turn their lights on, and I’ll wind around the residential streets getting distracted peering into windows. I’m very nosy.

6:00pm: I usually go to meet a friend for a glass of wine or dinner in the evening. My friend Francesca Perry, editor of Icon magazine, lives close by, so we might catch up on architecture news and other more miscellaneous topics over a drink. Most of my friends seem to have gravitated to east London, so we will meet in neighbourhoods like London Fields, Victoria Park Village or Clapton. I recently did a round up of my favourite places in Clapton for Little Places, a new platform for independent businesses in London.

8:30pm: In the evenings after dinner I usually do another couple of hours of work. My brain functions differently during the ‘late shift’, as I lamely term it in my head. I will strike off some admin tasks, or work on some longer burn projects I have been putting off, like research, photo editing or archiving. I’ll pull out books related to what I’m working on, but instead of reading, at this point in the day I’m more interested in something visual and unfocused.

11:00pm: Usually I continue winding down by watching a film on Mubi. I love Isabelle Huppert and Tilda Swinton, Claire Denis and Luca Guadagnino. I like slow moving and scenic films, about the intricacies of everyday life, human emotions and a bit of darkness – though, I’ll probably fall asleep 20 minutes in.