Exhibition Details

To celebrate its tenth anniversary, Galerie Philia—an international platform dedicated to contemporary design and art—presents STRATES, a major exhibition in Noisy-le-Grand from October 28 – November 30, 2025. The project unfolds across two emblematic brutalist landmarks: the Mont d’Est parking structure by Jacques Kalisz and Ricardo Bofill’s iconic Espaces Abraxas.
A Decade of Creation
This anniversary exhibition carries special significance: each PHILIA artist will present one iconic piece created for the gallery in the past decade, retracing its story and legacy. Together, these works — from monumental sculptures to radical design experiments — embody ten years of dialogue between art, design, and architecture. This retrospective constellation conceived for STRATES will resonate with the concrete spirals of Kalisz’s parking and the Abraxas architecture, balancing memory and projection.
Brutalism Revisited
PHILIA has forged its curatorial identity through exhibitions in singular architectural contexts—from Le Corbusier’s Cité Radieuse in Marseille to Oscar Niemeyer’s MAC Niterói in Brazil. With STRATES, the gallery turns to the Parisian periphery to highlight two masterpieces of late 20th-century architecture.
The Mont d’Est parking, often described as a "concrete cathedral" or space station, embodies the utopian ambition of the post-war 'ville nouvelle' era. Ricardo Bofill’s Espaces Abraxas, with their theatrical façades and cinematic aura (Brazil, The Hunger Games), stand as cultural symbols in their own right. By weaving these sites together, STRATES reveals the layers of history, imagination and potential that shape Noisy-le-Grand.
Civic engagement and urban transformation
STRATES also echoes the transformative urban vision currently pursued by the City of Noisy-le-Grand and SOCAREN. The Mont d’Est neighbourhood is entering a new chapter of its history, marked by a commitment to rehabilitate public spaces, reconnect its different poles and foster a new cultural dynamic.
For more than a decade, Galerie Philia has placed social engagement at the heart of its curatorial approach. Through initiatives such as Transhumances, Philia & Kids, and Philia Magazine, the gallery has consistently affirmed that design is not only about form but also about community, education, and collective imagination.
In this context, STRATES functions as a catalyst. It anticipates Mont d’Est’s vocation as a future cultural hub while immediately activating its public spaces and reawakening collective memory. Beyond aesthetics, the exhibition is a social gesture, involving the local population through participatory programming, workshops and encounters with artists—extending PHILIA’s long-term commitment to a design practice that is aesthetic, philosophical, and social.
Faithful to its transcultural ethos, PHILIA celebrates its tenth anniversary not only with an exhibition but with an experience at once aesthetic, philosophical and civic—reaffirming the place of contemporary design as a field of experimentation, dialogue and cultural transformation.