The Avi Efraim Gesundheit Traveling Fellowship was an incredible opportunity that allowed me to vastly expand my cultural and architectural perspectives of the world.  Armed with a euro-rail pass, hostel reservations, and a sketchbook, I was able to travel throughout Western Europe for seven weeks while studying sustainable architecture and experiencing cities that I had previously only known through external accounts.  My objective was to examine sustainable architecture in different locations including London, Paris, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and many smaller satellite cities.  I chose Western Europe as the location for study due to its presence as a vanguard in sustainability with architects such as Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, and Renzo Piano leading a new class of environmentally conscious designers.  

‘Sustainable’, ‘ecological’, ‘green’, or ‘eco-tech’ all refer to an architecture that strives to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.  Improved energy efficiency, reduced water consumption, and intelligent material selection are some of the goals for sustainable design, and visiting the different buildings in Western Europe allowed me to see how architects are currently trying to achieve these goals.  Throughout my travels I also began to realize that there are valuable things to be learned from examining the green urbanism of the European city.  The compact, centralized model with extensive mass transportation systems and heavy reliance on bicycles rather than cars has provided new insight towards city planning options.  Traveling solo I became fully immersed in the different cultures that I visited, and aside from looking at sustainable architecture, I learned about the histories, food, language, and people from 10 countries and many different cities. By far one of the most significant and beneficial experiences of my life, the Gesundheit traveling fellowship has helped me to develop a greater architectural sense and an immensely larger personal worldview.