DETAILS at Central Milton Keynes Library (first floor)

7 June 2022 – 30 July 2022

In 1946, the New Towns Act was passed. The plan was to move people from over-crowded and bomb-damaged cities to self-contained communities inspired by the garden city model. In the end, Britain created 32 new towns, which are home to nearly three million people today.

This exhibition explores the art and architecture of Stevenage (designated as the first new town in 1946) and Milton Keynes (one of the last wave, designated in 1967). It charts over thirty years of creative and pioneering designs, reflecting the dramatic shifts in society and politics along the way.

Both towns jointly commissioned Curl la Tourelle Head Architecture to visit and ‘detail’ the innovations in design and building techniques. This exhibition is one of the results of that commission. The drawings are also available to buy.

Visit the exhibition on the first floor of Central Milton Keynes Library and see ten of Milton Keynes’ most iconic places in a new light.

DETAILS compares and contrasts the first post-war new town of Stevenage with the final, largest and most ambitious new town of Milton Keynes, created 20 years later.

The exhibition brings you drawings, insights and stories into the architectural narrative of how new towns are one of the greatest building achievements of the 20th Century and the design heritage lessons we can learn for current regeneration and future growth.