Exploring the Banlieues Chéries Exhibition by Roll: Parisian Suburbs Through Art and Architecture

The Banlieues Chéries Exhibition, curated by Hadir Al Koshta and designed by Roll, offers an immersive exploration of Parisian suburbs, presenting them as complex, culturally rich spaces rather than oversimplified or stigmatized areas. Located in the Palais de la Porte Dorée museum in Paris, France, this 900 m² cultural architecture and exhibition space opened in 2025, showcasing over 200 works including archival documents, paintings, installations, photographs, videos, and personal testimonies. Through these works, the exhibition highlights the suburbs as sites of memory, cultural transmission, and social narratives.

The exhibition unfolds across three consecutive gallery sections, connected by a continuous curved wall that serves as both a spatial and narrative thread. Its convex form symbolically represents the diversity of suburban imagery—ranging from countryside edges, urban borders, and slums, to large-scale, low-income housing projects. This architectural gesture guides visitors while creating a rhythm of discovery.

At several points, the continuous wall is interrupted by interactive installations, sculptural objects, and functional structures, activating specific areas such as projection zones, press lounges, and dedicated art installations. These interruptions create deliberate pauses, shifting the visitor's perception and engagement while reinforcing the dynamic storytelling of the suburban experience.

The material palette reinforces the exhibition’s conceptual framework, evoking the bittersweet character of the suburbs. Contrasting raw, urban-inspired materials with muted, calming tones, the design introduces subtle softness within a structured environment. Elements like elegant flooring juxtaposed with exposed, unfinished ceilings accentuate this interplay between roughness and delicacy, reflecting both the physical and social textures of suburban life.

All photographs are works of Max Hart Nibbrig