logo
logo logo
  • Home
  • Categories
    • Topics
      • Diversity & Inclusion
      • Climate Change
      • Food
      • Quantum
      • Robotics
      • Machine Learning
      • Innovation in Architecture
      • Future of Work
      • Mathematics
      • Smart Cities
      • Sustainable Development Goals
      • Sports
      • Geography
      • Information Technology
      • Engineering
    • Projects
      • [y]our 2040
      • RETHINKING LIVING
      • togETHer
      • ETH Studios
      • ETH4Development
      • Summer School
      • Exchange Programme
      • Events
    • Regions
      • North America
      • Latin America
      • Asia-Pacific
      • South Asia
      • Europe
      • Africa
  • Subscribe!
  • Contact
  • International Perspective: A French Student In Switzerland
    Coding Robotic Motions, Decoding Cultural Notions
    A Bite of the Big Apple
    Agroecosystems & Resilience in Kenya: Reflections From a Field Course
    Volunteering in New York: Getting to know the melting pot that is NYC
logo logo
  • Home
  • Categories
    • Topics
      • Diversity & Inclusion
      • Climate Change
      • Food
      • Quantum
      • Robotics
      • Machine Learning
      • Innovation in Architecture
      • Future of Work
      • Mathematics
      • Smart Cities
      • Sustainable Development Goals
      • Sports
      • Geography
      • Information Technology
      • Engineering
    • Projects
      • [y]our 2040
      • RETHINKING LIVING
      • togETHer
      • ETH Studios
      • ETH4Development
      • Summer School
      • Exchange Programme
      • Events
    • Regions
      • North America
      • Latin America
      • Asia-Pacific
      • South Asia
      • Europe
      • Africa
  • Subscribe!
  • Contact

100 Days of Lockdown – Part I

by Lukas Fitze, Strategic Development at iart and ETH Zurich’s “Man in New York”, 30 June 2020
Submit Your Story!

I’ve been living in New York City for 20 plus years, and witnessed intense life changing events like 9/11, watched the city transform itself several times under different mayors (and presidents) — but none of this prepared me for 2020.

Prologue

January-February
The first time I perk up about the pandemic, which I knew about (but it was always in the background, somewhere else) is in January, in Davos, when a Chinese friend tells me she is stuck in Switzerland, not wanting to return home. From then on I know it is serious, but like prior epidemics, SARS or Ebola, I expect it to stay put “wherever it started”.

I return to New York at the end of January and begin prepping for another trip to Switzerland, when the first major alarm goes off — the Basel Carnival (Basler Fasnacht) is cancelled! I am pretty sure this has never happened in 800 years (well give or take the World Wars). Like most people, we find these precautions a little exaggerated. My friends in Basel speculate that it could be postponed until the Spring. Then slowly but surely, the art world begins to shut down as well: there is news of the Louvre taking a few days off, and Art Basel is up in the air.

March 5
A dinner at the Ambassador’s Residence in honor of the New York Philharmonic, the Coronavirus is on everyone’s mind. The ambassador confides that this might be the last event he hosts in a while. Orders from Bern instruct us to stop handshaking, so to everyone’s great amusement, we “elbow bump” instead. At my table, one of the dinner guests, who runs communications at the Peninsula Hotels, tells stories of emptied out hotels in Hong Kong. I have no idea this will be my last social event in New York, and my last time in Manhattan for a while.
March 7
Governor Cuomo declares a state of emergency as the number of cases jumps again, to 89, including 11 in the Big Apple. I am in in the last stages of planning a trip to Chicago, where I will be introducing architect offices, developers, and museums in the Midwest, to our work at iart (an experience design and engineering studio out of Basel). I decide to stick to my plan and squeeze in the trip, knowing that it might be the last opportunity to meet potential clients in person for some time. So I get on a plane on Monday (March 9), in the midst of mounting uncertainty.

The first few days in Chicago are fairly successful, I meet with possible collaborators. Compared to New York, there seems to be less concern about the pandemic — we still shake hands, talk in close quarters, social niceties that would soon become alien within a week. Come Thursday evening, there is a shift — after my meetings I find myself dining alone, as several friends and colleagues cancel our rendez-vous. Back at the hotel, I read an alarming message from my partner in New York: “get on a plane as soon as possible, New York might be shutting down.” The next and last day in Chicago, the mood is noticeably somber as I wrap up my meetings with a visit to the Graham Foundation.
The Director of the institution gives me a private tour of the current show (showcasing Sergio Prego and Miguel Fisac) and tells me that I will be the last visitor to the space. Earlier that morning, they had decided to close their premises. On the same day, the President declares a national emergency.
Last visitor: Sergio Prego & Miguel Fisac (photo credit: Lukas Fitze)
From my hotel room I watch my home team, FC Basel, win an away game with a 3-0 victory against Eintracht in Frankfurt in the Europa League. In normal times, this would have been a sensation, but this huge win was played to an empty stadium. I wonder how relevant this victory is. A week later, all league and international games in Europe are “paused”.
The calm before the storm / Last Chicago Blues (photo credit: Lukas Fitze)
March 14
The journey back to New York is surreal, with trains, airports, and planes strangely devoid of crowds.

The plane is not full, but people are clearly scared. The woman in front of me offers wipes, which I gladly accept. The guy across the aisle is going ballistic with his cleaning routine: every 10 minutes he wipes down his seat, and sanitizes his hands if he touches anything. He eats an orange, sanitizes his hands, wipes down the surrounding space. This goes on the entire flight. Back in New York, I am greeted to a surprise package from the ETH Circle, a very high-end piece of luggage! In my email note thanking my Zurich counterparts, I joke that I probably won’t be able to travel until the inaugural ETH Circle event in November. An exaggeration, of course, I think.
The story continues:
100 Days of Lockdown – Part II
100 Days of Lockdown – Part III
Submit Your Story!

About the author

Lukas Fitze (iart) is a strategic developer and project manager with a long-standing working relationship with ETH Zurich. Our “man” in New York, Lukas perhaps epitomizes the ETH Ambassador championing the university’s innovative research and creating numerous opportunities for its community.
 
The thing that keeps me busiest at the moment is: My cats.
My favourite app is: Don’t have any favorites, but I use WhatsApp daily and it definitely makes communication easier.
One book or movie I recommend: I thought the TV show Devs raised many important questions.
And if all else fails, my instant pick-me-up is: Running.

Related Posts

The Value of Learning from Practice: Discussing Medical Equipment with Professionals in Ghana and Kenya

November 17, 2022
""

Crisis Response: The Critical Role of a Science-Policy Interface

September 1, 2022

Great Expectations: My Internship at the Office of the President

August 25, 2022
comment
Please activate comment.
  • Office of the President

    global.ethz.ch

  • Subscribe to our blog!

    Loading
© ETH Zurich Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect those of ETH Zurich. In addition, ETH Zurich is not responsible for the content of external links.