Every year, this cultural event puts the spotlight on architecture in Paris and in Île-de-France. From Haussmannian blocks to the creations of Le Corbusier, through Art Deco and neoclassical architecture, the event invites us to rediscover and better appreciate the diversity of the region's built heritage.
This event is the Journées nationales de l'Architecture, held from 15 to 18 October 2026. During these days, museums, monuments, private townhouses, schools and other architecture-related landmarks open their doors to the public. The program includes thematic visits, games, workshops, and exhibitions for visitors of all ages.
In the Hauts-de-Seine, architecture enthusiasts can turn to the Jardin des Métiers d'Art et du Design. Based in Sèvres, just beside the Saint-Cloud national estate and the Sèvres Porcelain Manufacture, this venue that sits at the crossroads of art and craftsmanship highlights fascinating trades.
The Garden of Art and Design Trades awaits us on Saturday, October 17, 2026, for a day full of activities and discoveries. Here's the program, and remember to book your tickets in advance!
The JAD: Streaming — Trust me, Didier Fiúza Faustino
Come discover at JAD the installation of the sound work Trust Me by Didier Fiúza Faustino. This soundtrack, which continually broadcasts the phrase “Méfiez-vous des architectes” spoken by several people in many languages, asks—with humor and provocation—what our relationship to architecture and to its designers says about us. Originally created in 2011 for the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon with French, English, and Portuguese voices, the piece is presented here in its expanded 2022 version for MAAT (Museum of Art, Architecture & Technology), incorporating additional voices in Chinese, Ukrainian, Turkish, and Arabic.
Participation conditions: Drop-in - Free | No reservation required
Timings: Saturday, October 17, 2026 — 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM
The JAD: Listening Session — Sounds of Architecture Records
Designed by Marie-Hélène Fabre and Didier Faustino, the Sounds of Architecture Records collection offers a different way to experience architecture: through talk, sound, and stories where architects, designers, and residents recount their relationship to the spaces they design or inhabit. Listening sessions tied to this collection are held, highlighting two flagship discs: Gilles Delalex’s (Studio Muoto) reflection on his own relationship with space, and Matali Crasset’s, drawn from the Today’s Voices series, which centers on design practice and its ties to architecture. In parallel, visitors can read, at the JAD, the words of architects.
Participation requirements: Open access - Free | No reservation required
Schedule: Saturday, October 17, 2026 — 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Le JAD: Guided tour of the exhibition “Create a Vase” with Céline Saraiva, the exhibition’s curator
On the occasion of the National Architecture Days 2026, the JAD invites you to celebrate the launch weekend of the exhibition Creating a Vase in the presence of its curator Céline Saraiva and the design duo Marie & Alexandre. The day will open with a guided tour led by Céline Saraiva.
An object of use, sculpture, manifesto or testing ground: what can a vase be in the 21st century?
The twenty-one models and the rich study corpus aim to answer this question. With Creating a Vase, CNAP invites ten designers to reinterpret the universal shape of the vase within a research framework, enriching the collection “Decorative Arts, Design and Art Trades.” The JAD hosts the exhibition for its second phase from 16 October 2026 to 28 February 2027.
Participation conditions: Limited to 18 people - advance booking required | Free - https://my.weezevent.com/visite-de-lexposition-creer-un-vase-en-presence-de-celine-saraiva-1?_gl=11sjra3hgclau*MTEzODM3NDg3OS4xNzg0NTQ0MTQ3LjQ1NTA1NjgxNC4xNzkwMzUyMTA1LjE3OTAzNTQzNDEuMTE1NzgxNjI4OS4xNzkwMzQwNTA3LjE3OTAzNTQzNDE.*_gaNTc0NTk2NTQ4LjE3ODE1MzUzNDI._ga_39H9VBFX7G*czE3OTAzNTE5OTEkbzE5OCRnMSR0MTc5MDM1NDM5MSRqNTUkbDAkaDc3NjMzMDQwOQ..
Schedule: Saturday, October 17, 2026 — 2:30 PM–3:15 PM
The JAD: A tour with designers Marie & Alexandre and an overview of research on acoustic vases
Having trained at Villa Noailles and with the Bouroullec studio, Marie and Alexandre stand out as one of the most singular duos on the new French design scene. At the crossroads of craft, architecture, and object making, they turn raw materials (ceramics, glass, metal) into pieces that feel intimate—balanced between sculpture and furniture.
Building on René Floriot’s research from 1964 and contemporary experiments in acoustic ceramics, this sequence shows how a traditional object can become a tool for shaping sound. The project offers a comprehensive exploration of acoustic vases.
Participation requirements: Limited to 15 people – Reservation required | Free - https://www.le-jad.fr/
Timings: Saturday, October 17, 2026 — 3:30 PM–4:00 PM, 5:30 PM–6:00 PM
JAD tour with Ponthaud’s firm, in the presence of the Chief Architect of Historic Monuments
This tour invites the public to rediscover the historic Michel Roux-Spitz building and other emblematic examples of sound-architecture projects. The itinerary features, in particular, a guided site visit with the Ponthaud architectural firm and architect Marie Suzanne de Ponthaud, who oversaw the rehabilitation of the JAD.
Participation requirements: Booking essential | Free - https://www.le-jad.fr/
Schedule: Saturday, October 17, 2026 — 4:30 PM to 5:15 PM
Le JAD: Architects’ Conversations, hosted by Marie-Hélène Fabre Faustino
As part of the theme “Rehabilitate: Build the Future,” JAD explores the dialogue between architecture and sound. On this occasion, Marie-Hélène Fabre Faustino, co-curator of the program, invites architect Jean-Benoît Vétillard and the Hérault Arnod Agency for an exclusive conversation about one of their signature projects: the Métaphone ® in Oignies. This concert hall, conceived for repurposing former mining sites, probes how the built environment transforms through acoustics. Through this dialogue, discover how architecture, equipped with a genuine active “sound skin,” becomes an urban musical instrument capable of inhabiting and resonating with its territory.
Participation details: Limited to 30 participants - advance booking required | Free - https://www.le-jad.fr/
Schedule: Saturday, October 17, 2026 — from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
The JAD: A performance by Marie & Alexandre with Federico Gonzalez (Suricata)
The design duo Marie & Alexandre join forces with sound artist Suricata for a performance that probes the dialogue between object and acoustics. Centered on their “acoustic vases,” metal sculptures conceived as tools for shaping sound, the designers spark a meeting with the electronic universe of Federico González. At the crossroads of craft and experimentation, this performance reimagines these objects as living instruments, inviting audiences to a tactile reawakening of matter and spatial resonance.
Participation requirements: Limited to 50 attendees – Booking required | Free – https://www.le-jad.fr/
Schedule: Saturday, October 17, 2026 – 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM
A great opportunity to rediscover this art venue in Hauts-de-Seine.
Dates and Opening Time
On October 17, 2026
Location
Art and Design Garden
6 Grande Rue
92310 Sevres
Route planner
Official website
journeesarchitecture.culture.gouv.fr
