In light of the current situation with the Coronavirus in the UK, a number of our buildings will be closing. We have taken this decision in order to protect the health of our students, staff and visitors, and it builds on our previous decision to move all teaching online from week commencing 16 March. This closure may be for a significant period of time, with any decision to reopen being based on national health advice.
As a result of this:
- The Libraries in Somerset House and Vernon Square will close at 7pm on Friday 20 March.
- The Somerset House (East Wing) and Vernon Square buildings will close at 7pm on Sunday 22 March.
- Aside from essential on site staff, Courtauld employees will work from home until it is considered safe to return to work.
However, some areas will remain open for essential activity, as long as this is supported by public health advice:
- Duchy House – our student accommodation – will continue to operate as normal.
- The Courtauld Connects building site will continue to operate as close to normal as possible.
- Our off-site collections store will close to external visitors, but essential visits by Courtauld staff will continue.
We will update both staff and students on our plans for the summer term by 6 April (or sooner if the situation changes), and issue regular updates in between. For more information, please see our Coronavirus Q&As.
For the wider public, we will be looking at ways in which we can continue to share our research, academic expertise and collection, using online and remote channels until it is safe to reopen.