Galerie Philia is marking its tenth anniversary with STRATES, an ambitious large-scale exhibition that transforms two of France's most iconic brutalist architectural landmarks into contemporary art spaces. The show is being staged across Jacques Kalisz's Mont d'Est car park and Ricardo Bofill's Espaces Abraxas in Noisy-le-Grand, Greater Paris, running until November 30th, 2025. This anniversary exhibition reflects on a decade of innovative curatorial exploration that has consistently brought contemporary design into meaningful dialogue with architecture, philosophy, and civic life.
Since its establishment in 2015, Galerie Philia has built a reputation for situating contemporary design within architecturally significant and emotionally charged settings, rather than traditional gallery spaces. The gallery has previously staged exhibitions in iconic locations including Le Corbusier's Cité Radieuse in Marseille and Oscar Niemeyer's MAC Niterói in Brazil. STRATES continues this distinctive approach by transforming Kalisz's monumental car park into an experimental exhibition space, using design to reinterpret the raw concrete geometry of the brutalist structure.
"Our curatorial approach has always been to place contemporary design in dialogue with charged architectural sites rather than neutral white cubes," explains Ygaël Attali, co-founder of Galerie Philia. "When we encountered Jacques Kalisz's Mont d'Est car park, we felt the same shock of recognition: an extraordinary piece of brutalist architecture, at once monumental and fragile, whose latent potential could be reactivated through design." The choice of Noisy-le-Grand as the exhibition venue carries deep symbolic significance, as the area continues to embody the remnants of post-war utopian ideals that originally envisioned it as a futuristic living space on Paris's periphery.
The exhibition's concept embraces the unique duality found in Noisy-le-Grand's architectural landscape. "Our aesthetic often oscillates between brutalist geometry and wabi-sabi imperfection," Attali notes. "Noisy-le-Grand embodies this duality in a unique way: Ricardo Bofill's Espaces Abraxas, just next door, are monumental, almost operatic – a vision of the future as a utopian theater. Jacques Kalisz's Mont d'Est parking, by contrast, is raw, infrastructural, and today in a visibly fragile state." Rather than viewing the building's deterioration as a drawback, the gallery sees it as an integral part of the artistic narrative.
The curatorial philosophy behind STRATES treats the site's imperfections as creative material rather than obstacles to overcome. "That fragility makes it even more compelling to us: the cracks, stains, and erosion of the concrete are not defects but traces of time, revealing the human destiny of the structure," Attali explains. "For us, beauty lies not only in form but in narrative. The Mont d'Est car park offers both: its helicoidal ramps and raw textures are visually powerful, but equally important is the story it tells of collective ambition, decline, and potential rebirth."
This approach represents a continued rejection of the traditional white cube gallery model that has dominated contemporary art presentation. "We do not mute or mutilate the site; we embrace it as part of the proposition itself," Attali adds. "In Noisy-le-Grand, this means that the traces of time on Kalisz's structure are not erased but activated, allowing the works of design to resonate within a larger reflection on modernity, fragility, and continuity." The proximity of Bofill's Abraxas ensemble, still layered with cinematic mythology from its appearances in films, creates a compelling counterpoint that amplifies the exhibition's impact across the neighborhood.
While STRATES showcases key works from Galerie Philia's decade-long journey and roster of established artists, the exhibition also features several new site-specific commissions that respond directly to the brutalist architecture. "Morghen Studio has developed a monumental light installation echoing the spiral geometry of the ramps, transforming circulation into a luminous journey," shares Attali. "Lucas and Tyra Morten have created seating elements that directly engage with the car park's structural language. And Milla Vaahtera has designed a lamp that departs from her typically poetic and enchanted vocabulary, embracing instead a colder and more geometric expression."
The exhibition aligns with broader civic and cultural transformation efforts in Noisy-le-Grand, where local authorities and the public development company SOCAREN are reimagining how the area's monumental modernist architecture can evolve for contemporary use. "Noisy-le-Grand is emblematic of the late-20th-century ambition to create self-sufficient urban satellites around Paris," Attali points out. "Today, it is undergoing a process of revaluation: local officials are seeking to revitalize these iconic but underused spaces, making them more accessible to cultural and civic life."
Community engagement forms a crucial component of the STRATES exhibition, with local residents actively involved in both the organization and guided tours of the show. "We wanted the show not to be parachuted in from outside but truly integrated into the local fabric," reflects Galerie Philia's co-founder. Looking toward the future, Attali envisions a transformed neighborhood where architectural heritage becomes a foundation for renewal: "In five years, I imagine this neighborhood as a place where architectural heritage is not demolished but reactivated, where the extraordinary vision of architects like Kalisz and Bofill becomes the foundation for new forms of urban vitality."
