I came to Stuttgart hoping to fill my sketchbook with buildings. Instead, I filled it with lessons.
As an architecture student, I thought sustainability belonged in buildings. Germany taught me it belongs in everyday life.
Sketch 1: Prioritise people before parking.
Back home in Northern Ireland, meeting a friend starts with “Who’s driving?” In Stuttgart, it starts with, “Which tram are you getting?”
Fifteen minutes after leaving my flat, I’m walking through green streets to university. There’s little traffic, no parking stress, just people walking, cycling, and trams so frequent I’ve stopped checking the timetable.
The Deutschlandticket has changed how I travel. Instead of renting a car, I travelled to Lake Eibsee by public transport, reducing the trip’s carbon emissions by around 33 kg CO2e. The trip took longer, but it reminded me that getting there can be just as meaningful as arriving.
Sketch 2: Small habits, lasting change.
When I arrived, I didn’t have a pot or pan to my name. Thankfully, another Erasmus student had already thought ahead. The university donation station gave me everything I needed, and when I leave, I’ll pass it on to someone else.
That idea of giving things another life followed me everywhere. Saturday flea markets are my favourite place to find gifts with a story, Vinted is my first choice before buying new, and local bio markets introduced me to seasonal produce and independent businesses. As a vegan, I was amazed by the choices available. I’ll be dreaming about the vegan doner long after I leave Stuttgart.
More than anything, these small habits changed the way I think. I cook more, freeze leftovers, and have realised sustainability isn’t just about doing more, it’s also about wasting less.
Sketch 3: The greenest building is often the one already standing.
My favourite café is Herbert’z Espresso Bar, an old building given a new purpose. It made me realise adaptive reuse isn’t just something I draw at university; it’s something I experience every day.
Germany’s bottle deposit system reinforced the same lesson. Once my flatmate explained why everyone kept their bottles, I started seeing value in things I’d once overlooked. Back in the studio, I built my model from scraps collected from neighbouring architecture students instead of buying new materials. If bottles deserve a second life, perhaps our models do too.
I thought I’d return home with a camera full of photographs and a suitcase full of souvenirs. Instead, I’m returning with a sketchbook full of ideas.
Germany didn’t just change how I travel or consume; it changed the questions I’ll ask before I begin every future project.
Resources:
Deutschlandticket:
https://www.s-bahn-stuttgart.de/s-stuttgart/Deutschland-Ticket-12374782
Vinted:
https://www.vinted.de/
Vegan Map Germany:
https://www.vegan-map.de/index.php?lang=de
UN Sustainable Development Goals:
https://sdgs.un.org/goals
Germany’s Pfand system:
https://dpg-pfandsystem.de/index.php/en/
