- Art & Design
Galerie Philia is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year with Strates, an exhibition held from 28 October to 30 November 2025 in Noisy-le-Grand, France. The venue for this celebratory event encompassed two iconic examples of brutalist architecture: Jacques Kalisz’s Mont d’Est car park and Ricardo Bofill’s Espaces Abraxas. The exhibition marks a decade of collaboration with designers, artists, and architects, offering an overview of the works the gallery has presented over the past ten years.
Since its founding in 2015 by brothers Ygaël and Yaïr Attali, Galerie Philia has established itself as an international reference in collectible design objects. The gallery functions as a curatorial laboratory and transdisciplinary platform where architecture, sculpture, design, philosophy, and education are combined into a cohesive whole. The name ‘Philia’ refers to Aristotle’s concept of intellectual friendship, reflecting the gallery’s commitment to fostering connections between people, cultures, and periods of time. From the outset, the gallery developed a recognisable style, described as ‘wabi-sabi brutalism’: a dialogue between brutalist geometry and the tactile imperfections of natural materials.
Architecture as an equal partner
A core principle of Philia is an intimate relationship with architecture. The gallery consciously selects locations of historical and cultural significance rather than neutral white cubes. For the Strates exhibition, the choice of Jacques Kalisz’s Mont d’Est car park was obvious: 'It is an extraordinary piece of brutalist architecture, at once monumental and fragile, whose latent potential could be reactivated through design', the owners of Galerie Philia explain. The visual power of the helical ramps and raw concrete textures tells a story of collective ambition, decay, and possible rebirth. In contrast, Ricardo Bofill’s Espaces Abraxas serves as a theatrical, monumental counterpart: its façades and scale make it a cultural icon. Together, these locations form a dialogue that reveals the layers of history, imagination, and future potential of Noisy-le-Grand. 
The district symbolises the ambition of a late-twentieth-century urban experiment to create a self-sufficient satellite town around Paris. Today, the area is undergoing a process of reevaluation. Strates aligns with this by activating public spaces and engaging the local community in the project. Workshops and artist encounters make the exhibition a social and cultural event that goes beyond mere aesthetics. ‘In five years, we imagine this neighbourhood as a place where architectural heritage is not demolished but reactivated, where the extraordinary vision of talented architects becomes the foundation for new forms of urban vitality. By inviting audiences back into these sites, we demonstrate that they are not relics, but still relevant stages for contemporary imagination’.
Star performers
Specifically for Strates, several designers created new, site-specific works that reflect the identity of the locations. Morghen Studio produced a monumental light installation echoing the spiral form of the ramps, while Lucas and Tyra Morten designed seating that directly responds to the structure of the car park. Milla Vaahtera, on the other hand, designed a lamp that departs from her poetic style, adopting a stricter geometric language to complement the atmosphere of the sites.
From the outset, the gallery developed a recognisable style, described as ‘wabi-sabi brutalism’
Moreover, the exhibition serves as a retrospective of Galerie Philia’s first ten years. The gallery has introduced many designers to an international audience for the first time, including Pietro Franceschini, Jan Garncarek, Pierre de Valck, and Elsa Foulon, while collaborating with established names such as Studiopepe, Hugo França, and Rick Owens. The platform has also hosted temporary collaborations in exceptional locations, inspired by seasonal migrations, where artists and designers work with local materials and traditions. Through Philia & Kids, the gallery’s educational branch, important values are passed on to younger generations. Children have the opportunity to explore design, tactility, and emotional expression through materials, often in collaboration with international designers. In addition to exhibitions, the gallery produces films and publications that have received international recognition, and has participated in various cutting-edge design fairs.
Celebration
Philia’s tenth anniversary is celebrated with Strates not only through a retrospective of iconic works, but also as an experience that is aesthetic, philosophical, and civic in nature. The exhibition highlights the potential of Noisy-le-Grand as a future cultural hub and illustrates how design can function as a means of social and urban transformation. It reveals the layers of time and creation that Galerie Philia has built over the past ten years: from sculptural experiments to educational projects and international residencies. It is an invitation to reflect on the relationship between object, architecture, and society, and a demonstration of how contemporary design can contribute to urban vitality.
Images courtesy of Galerie Philia
Text by Carolien Depamelaere