NYU London students now have the opportunity to get a glimpse at the issue of sustainability through an architectural perspective.

The university’s Global Local Open Border Architecture and Landscape Design initiative has brought an exhibition called “Elsewhere Envisioned” on environmental architecture and urban design to the London Center for the Built Environment. From Sept. 20 to Oct. 19, the exhibition features more than 30 designers, architects, landscape architects, scientists, historians and urbanists.

The exhibition, directed and curated by Gallatin professors Peder Anker, Louise Harpman and Mitchell Joachim, is part of a five-year plan to present exhibits in five of NYU’s global sites.

“Gallatin and the members of the GDNYU working group are all committed to environmental sustainability and ecological design,” said Harpman, co-founder of GLOBAL Design NYU. “We wanted to bring this thinking and awareness to the fore.”

The next stop for the project is NYU Abu Dhabi, followed by NYU Shanghai, Harpman added.

“Buildings are the locus and the source of many challenging environmental impacts. For instance, the majority of NYU’s greenhouse gas emissions stem from the use of energy to power, heat and cool our campus buildings,” said Jeremy Friedman, manager of Sustainability Initiatives for NYU Sustainability.

By hosting this event, the university plans to extend the issues of green architecture to other areas.

“This speaks to how important environmental issues are at NYU, to the role universities can play in solving big problems,” Friedman said.

The featured guests at the event will present their various specialties and showcase large architectural models, drawings, animations and films.

The curators have been organizing the show since October 2011 and have been working closely with NYU London faculty members. The day-long symposium of the event will be held on Oct. 19, with the help of NYU London faculty and the Bedford Square Academic Center.

This year’s exhibition showcases leading European designers while last year’s show in the United States featured North American designers. Next year’s Abu Dhabi exhibition will focus on architectural practices in the Middle East and Persian Gulf. As the show moves from country to country, the university hopes the ideas presented in the exhibitions will spark change among NYU campuses.

“Retrofitting existing buildings and changing campus culture and human behavior are key ingredients of the energy-saving puzzle, but green building plays an equally vital role,” Friedman said.

A version of this article appeared in the Sept. 24 print edition. Tatiana Baez is deputy university editor. Email her at [email protected].