Concrete Utopias: An Education of Desire was an exhibition of work produced by students of Nathaniel Coleman’s Architectural Design Studio at Newcastle University during and following the academic year 2016/17. Curated by the architectural consultant and utopist Amy Butt, who assisted in the teaching of the studio, it sought to rehabilitate the notion of utopia within architecture and demonstrate its utility as a critical and vital concept for architectural designers.
The exhibition was installed during the final Imaginaries of the Future symposium at Chelsea College of Art in August 2017. It consisted of a three-channel video installation; and a series of architectural models, craft objects and design sketches produced by the students, who also organised a panel on their work as part of their symposium. A publication was also produced. Edited by Amy Butt and Nathaniel Coleman, this featured contributions from the students on the course and essays by Amy Butt and Nathaniel Coleman. Amy’s introduction can be read here (.pdf).
Imaginaries of the Future 