Parties Communes

Entrance hall, staircase, elevator, corridor, courtyard, bicycle storage, vegetable garden… what do the grammar of common areas and their daily use reveal about our society?

Never before has a study addressed common areas from an architectural perspective in the French context. This exhibition, curated by Aldric Beckmann and Jean-Philippe Hugron, makes this exploration possible. Through a historical and contemporary analysis, the exhibition is aimed at both urban planning professionals and residents of Paris and Greater Paris. It allows us to approach these familiar spaces as fully-fledged spatial complexes and to dissect their design and uses. The exhibition explores the architectural, social, and economic issues surrounding these everyday spaces through a comprehensive inventory of archival documents, plans, and diagrams. Case studies of metropolitan architecture detailing the different typologies of common areas are complemented by research on their contemporary uses, using photographs, testimonials, and architectural projects.

As primary spaces for social interaction, common areas function as essential and tangible social networks for city dwellers. However, in a context of a tight housing market and increasing densification, allocating space to common areas seems to have become a new challenge for both private and public designers. While increasingly perceived as a variable to be reduced, they remain the focus of ambition for some architects, landlords, and developers seeking to make their proportions and uses more generous. With a scientific yet sensitive perspective on these spaces, the exhibition offers a clear understanding of the future of common areas and highlights their essential role in community life as a source of encounters, consideration for others, and mutual support. A shared exhibition… in a new common area! Because they are central to community life, common areas are also places of inclusion, exchange, and encounters.

As part of its metropolitan outreach program, the Pavillon de l’Arsenal is pleased to present the exhibition "Common Areas" in partnership with Plateau Urbain, a temporary urban planning cooperative, at the heart of the former La Rochefoucauld hospital site. The "Common Areas" exhibition will be accompanied by a cultural program open to the general public: guided tours, a coloring activity for children and families, discussion sessions, and film screenings. The exhibition thus becomes a space for experimentation and dialogue, reflecting the nature of the places it explores.