The Street Society

"Passing By" is a human & urban walking experience created by , experience designer and .cabaret , urban strategist. 

Its first edition took place in Paris in November 2022. A group of 30 strangers connected by answering questions around 3 themes along a route passing by 3 areas : Desire (boulevard Pigalle), Death (Montmartre cemetery), and Dreams (Abbesses). 

For each of these 3 themed sections, participants who didn’t know each other were matched in pairs. Each pair then had to perform one specific ritual and answer an intimate question in relation to the theme, while walking along the route. 

This collective performance-experience created 90 new human connections on the streets of Paris, exploring the question of our relation to ourselves and to other “passers-by” in dense, rapidly evolving cities.  

One of the participants described it as: “a social experience in the form of a journey through the unknown, around topics that touch us all, also proving that unusual situations can allow you to open your mind and broaden your vision and boundaries.” ✨

Our Passing By experience in November was truly magical. We already have a waiting list for future walks! If you have an open mind and a curious heart and are keen to participate, DM us with your e-mail and the city where you would like Passing By to take place.

Passing By : 
1 city
30 strangers
3 themes
3 urban paths
3 rituals
90 new human connections
Countless perspectives & feelings

Thank you for your openness Robin, Aurore, Thaíssa, Valentin, Raiana, Andreza, Yémi, Damien, Do, Mélodie, François, Cédric, Étienne, Cédric, Victor, Clarice, Margaux, Marie-Anne, Wanda, Paul, Diem, Maïwenn, Alexandra, Antonio, Éloi, Brent, Joel, Robyn, Denis, Alice, Jia-Hao, Adrien, Éléonore, Maroussia 💛

 

Photos by

🏆Winning project ! Our team has won the competition for the transformation of the Perrache hub, in the heart of Lyon, France !

Built in 1976 by architect René Gagès as the first multimodal hub in the world (pic 4), this complex building located above a highway and next to a major train station was in dire need of restoration. Our adaptive reuse strategy is inspired by the “flexible framework” philosophy of Gagès, in order to develop a new destination in line with our contemporary uses and challenges.

The Street Society designed a mixed-use program including a food ecosystem (delivery, production and distribution spaces + restaurants), a hotel, a mobility hub, cultural venues, workspaces and shops, as well as a rooftop parc offering a panoramic view of Lyon.

As the building is currently used by more than 36 million people every year (more than 70 million in 2030), our team’s main focus is to develop one of the most ambitious and inspiring projects in France in terms of ecological transition. Construction works will start in 2024, with an opening planed in 2028.

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Notre équipe est lauréate du grand concours pour la reconversion du Centre d’Echanges Lyon Perrache (CELP) à Lyon !

Cette réhabilitation ambitieuse s’appuie sur la “trame capable” développée par l’architecte René Gagès pour ce bâtiment en 1976 : c’était alors le premier hub multimodal au monde. The Street Society a travaillé sur une programmation mixte sur plus de 25 000 m2, de manière à encourager des pratiques plus vertueuses et responsables pour se déplacer, travailler, s’alimenter et consommer en ville, alors que ce bâtiment est traversé par plus de 36 millions de personnes chaque année (70 millions en 2030). Le début des premiers travaux est prévu pour 2024 avec une mise en service dès 2028.

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Dream team :

architectes .architectures 
Alep Architectes, Zefco, VPEAS, Egis, KATENE, Tisseyre & Associés, QUADRIM CONSEILS, Groupe Qualiconsult, Plateau Urbain, Cycle Up, Ecoceaty

is one of the 3 illustrators who worked on Dream Street, our mural in Toronto ! 💛 Dream Street is a utopian cityscape created with the youth and produced as part of The Bentway’s “Playing in Public” program.

Éloïse Gillard designed the forest section of the mural. Inspired by a giant “building-giraffe” 😮 drawn by one of the kids who took part to our Dream Street drawing contest, Eloïse imagined a forest with lush plants and animals from around the world 🌿

We interviewed Éloïse - freelance illustrator after a few years working as an art director for various Parisian agencies - about her creative process. 💫

TSS : How would you define your style ?
EG : Both sweet and colorful, feminine and poetic (at least I hope!). I like to think of my illustrations as an invitation to travel and to dream.

TSS : What interested you the most in this project ?
EG : I loved the collective dynamic ! It was the first time I had the opportunity to collaborate with other illustrators on the same project. I also liked the implication of children in the process, since we asked them to draw their version of a utopian city beforehand.

TSS : How did you work on that project ?
EG : The main challenge here was the
size of the project : my section measured more than 5x5 meters ! I used the Procreate software on iPad, and then Photoshop.

TSS : Amongst the different drawings we received from the kids, which one inspired you the most ?
EG : Without any doubt the one with the giraffe. 🦒

TSS : Your utopian street, in 3 words ?
BM : Oneiric, colourful and joyful. 🌟

📷 by

Site visit !

🔮 The Street Society
is imagining new futures for this mysterious place in the heart of Paris✨

An urban gem just as we like them 💖

More news to come soon(ish) ! 🤫

Meet , one of the 3 illustrators who worked on Dream Street, our mural in Toronto ! 💛 Dream Street is a utopian cityscape created with the youth and produced as part of The Bentway’s “Playing in Public” urban exhibition.

Bérénice designed the house section of the mural, inspired by the Victorian houses of the neighborhood. A poetic and playful artwork, mixing colours and shapes, with hidden animals and objects. 🏡🐷

We interviewed Bérénice Milon, illustrator and designer based in Paris, about her creative process.

TSS : How would you define your style ?
BM : Graphic poetry, using shapes as a visual grammar through my stories…

TSS : What interested you the most in this project ?
I loved the challenge of drawing a “space within a space”, transforming the building’s surface while taking into account the surrounding architecture and urban landscape.

TSS : How did you work on that project, and what tools did you use?
BM : I start by drawing sketches by hand in a large notebook, to put the story together. I then carry iconographic research, in order to enrich my graphic vocabulary and find systems I haven’t thought of before. I then start the final drawing until I’m happy with the result. I use a digital tablet as well as a selection of Adobe suite softwares.

TSS : Amongst the different drawings we received from the kids, which one inspired you the most ?
BM : I really liked the cat on roller skates queuing in front of an ice cream cart ! 😂

TSS : Your utopian street, in 3 words ?
BM : Inclusive, flowery, safe. 🌻

Comment transformer, plutôt que démolir, les ensembles obsolescents des années 70? Un sujet essentiel que nous avons exploré cette année lors d'un atelier avec les étudiants de l'école Boulle (DSAA1 Territoires Habités) autour du cas d'étude de la Maison de l'Administration Nouvelle sur l'Ile de Nantes. Diagnostic territorial, visite de site, exploration sensible du lieu, entretiens sur place, formation au processus de programmation, atelier d'idéation, organisation d'un jury : un programme sur-mesure que nous avons mis au point pour les étudiants. Ces derniers ont pu développer très rapidement un scénario programmatique répondant aux besoins du territoire et révélant les qualités existantes du bâtiment.

Merci à eux pour cette belle expérience, ainsi qu'à l'équipe enseignante et à Claire Schorter. 

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How to transform, rather than demolish, the obsolescent buildings of the 1970s? An essential subject that we explored this year during a workshop with the students of the Boulle design school (DSAA1 Territoires Habités) with the case study of the Maison de l'Administration Nouvelle located in Nantes. We created an intensive, tailor-made program for the students: site visit, sensorial exploration of the place, on-site interviews, training course about the programming process, brainstorming session, organization of a jury... The students were able to develop a programmatic proposal meeting the needs of the territory and enhancing the existing qualities of the building.

A big thank you to them for this awesome experience, as well as to the teaching team and Claire Schorter.

In 1982, Agnes Denes planted a wheat field near Wall Street on a dump site. The project commented on the mismanagement of food, land use, waste, energy, and economics. "It was insane. It was impossible. To attempt to plant and harvest 2 acres of wheat here, wasting valuable real estate, was an effrontery. It would draw people's attention to having to rethink their priorities and realize that unless human values were reassessed, the quality of life, even life itself, was in danger".

More than 1,000 pounds of healthy, golden wheat were harvested. The grain travelled to an exhibition about World Hunger, the hay was given to the city's mounted police for horses, and the seeds were carried away by people. "Wheatfields - A confrontation" became an iconic, surreal, and provocative image within art history.

Agnes Denes is a pioneer in several mediums and art movement that engages with our ecological challenges. We are inspired by her curiosity, energy, sharp mind, and her dedication to a process of making. A retrospective of her works is currently being presented at The Shed in New-York, a new cultural institution designed by

🍾 We are (very) happy to announce that we've won the Reinventer le Havre competition for the EM Normandie site !

Through a beautiful re-interpretation by .eberle.architects of the architecture of Auguste Perret, our project will breathe new life into this unique building which will soon become a new urban heart, a theatre (centre, stage, space) for an intergenerational and ecological urban experience.

Our program includes a 4-star hotel, a Montessori school and its rooftop playground, intergenerational housing, a health centre, a gym, a restaurant and retail spaces for local businesses.

Special thanks to the great team we've had the chance to collaborate with for this project: developers .sogeprom , and ,
architects .eberle.architect, landscape architects and environmental consultants and -ingenierie. And congrats to for leading the project on The Street Society side !

Throwback to the second edition of the Carta Infinita creative urban residency, organized by , The Street Society, Points-Bascule and The Window.

This year, Carta Infinita explored the surroundings of The Window Gallery, rue Gustave Goublier, in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. The clues collected throughout the week were staged in an "atlas-showcase" drawn upon The Window's shop front, an exhibition and through a street-performance staged rue Gustave Goublier.

A poetic and participative way of revealing the essence of the urban landscape.

Special thanks to Atelier Berger-Milà, Gemma Milà, Corentin Berger, The Window, Catherine Baÿ, Points-Bascule, Julia Borderie, Eloïse Le Gallo, Alice Cabaret, Lucile Bernatas, GR20, William Hessel, Tanja Vujasinovic, Gildo Bavcevic, Felix de Montety, Grace Denis, Simon Zaborski, Chris Saunders, Guillaume Cabaret, Anna Kulikova, Ekatarina Shcherbakova.



@ Rue Gustave-Goublier