Research in the learning sciences is often motivated by the goal of shaping a better future through design. Architects and urban planners share this goal, and the history of their more ambitious designs provides clear examples of how attempts to build the future can turn out. After discussing similarities and differences between design in the learning sciences and design on the scale of buildings and cities, I examine three visionary projects from the modernist era in architecture and urban planning. Each project sought to bring about a radically different and more desirable future, using the most innovative technology and the best ideas of its time. Lessons for learning scientists are drawn from these projects, and suggestions are offered about how architecture scholars can serve as models for learning scientists in how they conceive and study their own efforts to shape a better future.