Kerstin Sailer
A spotlight on Bartlett Disability Role Model, Kerstin Sailer.
I am a Professor in the Sociology of Architecture and explore the relationship between buildings and the people using them. I’m particularly interested in floor plans and how they structure processes of bringing people together or keeping them apart. I undertake research on this topic, supervise doctoral students, and teach in the MSc/MRes programme Space Syntax: Architecture and Cities.
I’ve always been curious about how we know when a design is ‘good’ (and ‘good’ for whom?). During my time in architecture school, I endlessly questioned my design tutors about how and why they judged designs as good or not good. I was frustrated with answers based on intuition or experience and was eager to explore ways in which we can measure the qualities of a design or at least describe them objectively. Users and processes of use are often ignored in architecture, and I find it fascinating to shed more light on this topic.
How do you like to spend your spare time?
I love spending time with my family, cooking foods from around the world, reading novels, taking photographs (not just of architecture but also of nature), and creating art with coloured pencils.
Can you describe your disability and how it impacts your daily life?
As a person living with Long Covid, I have limited energy levels and need to pace myself very carefully. When I step outside of my energy envelope, my symptoms—including headaches, chest pains, muscle and joint aches, insomnia, diarrhoea, breathlessness, brain fog, noise intolerance, and a racing heart—exacerbate, so I try to balance my activities as best I can. I do a lot of planning and mostly work from home, currently in a part-time role, so that I can intersperse activities with rest.
How has your relationship with your disability evolved over time?
I was a healthy and active person before I caught Covid in October 2021, and it took me quite a while to realise that my condition would not magically go away. I had to come to terms with this new self and find ways to live in the here and now, within the boundaries I have. That process included a lot of grieving and reevaluating what it means to be me.
I now proudly call myself disabled and try to raise my voice for others with invisible disabilities.
What do you wish your colleagues or students understood about living with a disability?
I wish colleagues and students understood that living with a disability is hard work; that it fluctuates, meaning some days are better than others; and that, even though I look healthy, I often don’t feel great. Also, for roughly every hour I work, I need an hour to lie down, rest, and take it easy.
Colleagues and students often only see me when I’m engaging—they don’t see how I need to buffer my time around these interactions in order to function.
What principle(s) or motto do you absolutely live by?
Be kind to others—you don’t know what they might be carrying. Take each day as it comes. Slow down. Seek wonder and beauty in the small things.
Are there any resources, tools, or practices you’ve found particularly helpful as a disabled professional?
The practice of saying no is one that I haven’t historically been very good at (like many academics, haha…), but I’m slowly learning to prioritise better and decline offers if they exceed what I can manage. Saying no is like a muscle that needs training, and I wish more people would set an example by establishing healthy boundaries.
We often applaud academics for their commitment, including their weekend and evening work, but I would love to see more healthy habits celebrated instead.
Are there any resources or initiatives you’d recommend to other disabled students or staff?
Learning about pacing as a strategy for energy management has been fundamental for me and marked a real turning point in enabling me to achieve stability with my body and my capacities.
I have found incredible community and compassion in Long Covid self-help peer groups and highly recommend reaching out to others with similar conditions.
If you could influence one change in the way universities support disabled staff and/or students, what would it be?
I wish there was greater awareness that Covid is still circulating, that anyone can develop Long Covid, and that repeat infections can wreak havoc on people’s bodies. I wear a mask frequently and would appreciate more people caring about their own health and the health of others.
Healthy and clean air in buildings would solve so many issues.
What role do you think allies (non-disabled colleagues) should play in creating a more inclusive workplace?
If every event, talk, and meeting offered hybrid participation options by default, it would make my life so much easier. The number of times I have to request this (sometimes unsuccessfully) is surprising. It’s 2025, and with a little thought, this should be standard practice.
I’d love for UCL to invest more in videoconferencing technology so that every room is equipped with the necessary systems to make hybrid participation seamless.
The other thing I’d love to see is colleagues not looking away. When I “disappeared” from work in 2021, very few colleagues sent a message to check in. Those who did truly made my day!
I understand that people hesitate because they don’t know what to say but working from home exclusively is lonely. I would love to feel more connected to my colleagues in their everyday lives.