Utopia, University and Architecture: A Journey that Changed the Design of Contemporary Universities Pablo Campos Calvo-Sotelo Urbanizacio´n Villagolf, 25, Villanueva de la Can˜ada 28691, Madrid, Spain. E-mail: pacampos@teleline.es In 1927, a group of advisors to King Alfonso XIII of Spain, led by the architect Modesto Lo´pez-Otero, set out for the United States and Canada. Previously, they had visited a number of European cities where they examined the medieval architectural form of some famous universities. Inspired by a Utopian vision, the journey to the New World studied the American University as a possible model — in terms of lifestyle and physical layout — for the design for the new University City in Madrid. Searching for inspiration, the group visited New Haven, Boston, Ann Arbor, Rochester, Washington, Baltimore, Princeton and New York, as well as Toronto and Montreal in Canada. The outcome of so significant a journey was the establishment in Spain’s capital of the first University campus in Europe to be planned along American lines. This article focuses on the Utopian origins of this inspired quest, the results of which created a new bridge between the university cultures of Europe and America. Higher Education Policy (2006) 19, 251–267. doi:10.1057/palgrave.hep.8300112 Keywords: university; architecture; history of the university; campus; university urbanism; university in Spain; utopia ‘Make no small plans, they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans, aim high in hope and workyLet your watchword be order and your beacon beauty’ 1 Utopia: The Shaping of a Dream Throughout History, Utopia has always been a source of critical inspiration for Universities in their unceasing quest for excellence and renovation. Behind every critical change the establishments Higher Education have undertaken, Utopia has provided the energy to renew their principles, their organization and their physical space. In certain instances, the engines that drove forward major change and substantive improvements have been Town Planning, Urbanism and Architecture (Campos, 2000). Higher Education Policy, 2006, 19, (251–267) r 2006 International Association of Universities 0952-8733/06 $30.00 www.palgrave-journals.com/hep