Saint-Étienne Design Biennial
Saint-Étienne is no stranger to design! The very first Design Biennial was held in 1998. Back then, the initiative was spearheaded by the École des Beaux-arts. Later, with the support of numerous private and public partners, the Cité du design took over production of this unique event in France. From the outset, the Saint-Étienne Biennial’s vocation has been to democratize design by making it accessible to as many people as possible. This is achieved through encounters with designers, craftspeople, designers, teachers and exhibition curators, through concrete applications of design (guided tours, space design, ceramic workshops, decorative arts, graphic design, sculpture, etc.), but also through festive and creative events throughout the different Biennials. Like the city that hosts it every 2 years, the Biennial evolves, reinvents itself and moves with the times. It aims to be a forerunner on a wide range of subjects in order to imagine a reinvented future. It proves this once again with the theme of this year’s event: “Ressource( s), présager demain” .
Key points to remember:
- Discover the design biennial (exhibitions, practical information, festivities)
- Find the best places to go out during the Biennial
- Find the right accommodation to make the most of your stay
- Explore other must-see places during the Biennial
Discover the Saint-Étienne 2025 International Design Biennial
After a 3-year wait, 2025 is the year of its return. From May 22 to July 6, 2025, in the heart of the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region, will be the 13th edition of the Biennale du Design, with a highly engaging theme: “Ressource(s), présager demain” (“Resource(s), foreshadowing tomorrow”). This year’s event highlights the production challenges of the 21st century, and examines the current resources available to designers to prepare for the future. It showcases the figure of the designer by presenting original objects and projects from all over the world. Particular emphasis will be placed on young designers and students from the École supérieure d’art et design de Saint-Étienne (ESADSE), as well as on industry.
For the occasion, the guest country of honor will be Armenia. Why this country, you might ask? Well, because it’s in the process of reinventing itself in the fields of design, fashion, know-how and architecture, with a new creative scene taking shape. Armenia is also a real link between West and East.
What’s in store for the 2025 Design Biennial?
Exhibitions at the 2025 Design Biennial:
This year’s biennial will be held on 2 main sites: La platine at the Cité du Design and Les Halles Barrouin. This means that 9 exhibitions will be on display for all to see, as well as a whole host of echoing exhibitions all over the Metropole. To find out more about the exhibitions, click here.
Ressource(s), presaging tomorrow
This exhibition explores contemporary production challenges and how designers are preparing for the future with today’s resources. It showcases never-before-seen objects and invites visitors to discover innovative ideas for tackling environmental challenges.
The right to dream
This exhibition celebrates imagination and creativity, drawing inspiration from visual and literary works to explore the sensitive dimension of our lives. It invites visitors to rediscover the philosophy of Gaston Bachelard through short, inspiring texts.
En relief, créer en Arménie
This exhibition highlights the creativity and skills of contemporary Armenian artists. It presents works that bear witness to Armenia’s rich cultural and artistic heritage, while exploring the techniques and materials used by local artists.
FABécole
FABécole is the fruit of collaboration between the know-how of local companies, the Cité du design’s material library, and the creativity of design students. The exhibition presents a series of objects imagined by the students and produced by the companies, representative of their know-how.
Design des territoires
The exhibition explores how design can transform and improve territories. It presents projects by young designers who are reinventing links to places, caring for the ordinary and reintegrating the neglected, while giving people back the power to act on their environment.
Who are you Raymond Guidot?
A retrospective on the life and work of Raymond Guidot, design historian and engineer, who played a key role in organizing exhibitions and promoting design in France. The exhibition retraces his career and his impact on industrial design.
Showcasing tomorrow’s know-how
This exhibition highlights the talents and skills of contemporary craftsmen and designers. It pays tribute to excellence and innovation in various fields, presenting works that embody French cultural heritage and today’s technical skills.
Faire Encore and Banc d’essai
These exhibitions present experimental objects and projects designed to respond to new urban and societal uses. They invite the public to test and discover design innovations in public spaces, with an emphasis on sustainability and interaction with users.
Featured exhibition: Nos pieds d’argile (Our feet of clay) by Matali Crasset
This exhibition on the Le Corbusier site in Firminy explores human fragility and our relationship with the environment. It invites us to reflect collectively on repairing, rehabilitating and preparing the ground for a sustainable future.
To find out more
The biennial also includes festive events, convivial moments, and opportunities to exchange ideas and try out new experiences at various events.
6 themed days: conferences, workshops, round tables and much more.
- Saturday, May 24 and Sunday, May 25: The inaugural weekend! On the program: zany funfair, Carabosse – Parcours de feu. Bonus: open until midnight, free biennial exhibitions and STAS buses and streetcars.
- Saturday, May 30 and Sunday, June 1ᵉʳ: Festival complètement gaga
- Saturday, June 7 and Sunday, June 8: Fashion shows, workshops and designer market
- Sunday, June 15: Course du design, workshops
- Saturday, June 21: Fête de la musique at the Cité du design.
- Saturday and Sunday, June 29: Giant dress sale, flea market, garage sale
1 ephemeral boutique in the Halles Barrouin
In short, this year’s biennial design event has something for everyone.
Practical information
When does the Saint Etienne International Design Biennial take place?
From May 22nd to July 6th 2025
Where will the Saint-Étienne Design Biennial be held?
In the Cité du design’s La Platine building (1 to 3 rue Javelin Pagnon, 42000 Saint-Étienne) and the Halles Barrouin (3 rue Barrouin, 42000 Saint-Étienne).
What are the opening hours?
Closed Mondays; Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday open from 10am to 6pm; Friday and Saturday open from 11am to 8pm; Sunday open from 10am to 6pm.
How much does admission to the Biennale cost?
Admission starts at €6.
Restaurants, bars... Where to go out during the Biennale
The Biennale du Design is the perfect opportunity to discover a wide range of local expertise. So, to mark the occasion, we invite you to try out some of the restaurants and tearooms that won the 2022 Commerce Design competition:
Dobry Lab is the hybrid place par excellence. Here, you can drink tea, coffee or fruit juice, enjoy home-made pastries, store in the boutique, and also express your creativity through numerous workshops (linocut, vegetable printing, screen printing). In short, we spend a colorful and poetic moment with hosts who warmly welcome us.
📍52 Rue Charles de Gaulle
🚶♀️ 7-minute walk from Cité du Design
Beer Garden is the place to be on Place Jean Jaurès. This “bièronomique” restaurant, as it likes to call itself, is sure to delight beer lovers, but not only… Yes, it will also delight fans of green. Green is everywhere: on the plate, with daily vegetarian offerings; above our heads, with a green ceiling; and in the decor, with a huge wall lined with illuminated bottles. In short, this is an address to try out for sure!
📍12 Pl. Jean Jaurès
🚶♀️15 minutes on foot from the Cité du design or 🚊10 minutes by streetcar T1 or T2
Dames d4, is the resto-bar right next to Les Halles Mazerat located right in the city center. When you push open the door, you’re drawn into a world that mixes street art, industrial style, plant decor and furniture found in your grandparents’ attic. All this in a place where you can eat traditional, tasty cuisine while enjoying one of the regular events on offer.
📍2 Cr Victor Hugo
🚊 16 minutes by T1 streetcar from Cité du design
To keep in the spirit of the event, here’s a selection of accommodation that fits the theme:
Novotel Châteaucreux ****: You can’t miss it as you leave the station! With its bright red color, the building that houses the hotel is designed by architects Emmanuel Combarel and Dominique Marrec (ECDM), and plays the design card that appeals. With the Biennale in full swing, we recommend the Novotel experience, with services that are sure to delight. With a rooftop terrace, restaurant, fitness room, lobby lounge bar and much more, there really is something for everyone.
📍 5 Esp. de France
🚊 19 minutes by T2 streetcar to Cité du Design
Terminus du Forez ***: This hotel is just a stone’s throw from the train station and has a few surprises up its sleeve. Rooms here have a distinctive decor. Throughout the hotel, you’ll find designer furniture by such greats as Philippe Starck and Le Corbusier. So don’t be afraid to be surprised!
📍31 Av. Denfert Rochereau
🚊 19 minutes by T2 streetcar to Cité du Design
Center Internationale de Séjour Wogenscky: Perched on the Crêt de Roc hill, a ten-minute walk from Châteaucreux station, this youth hostel is inspired by the architecture of Le Corbusier. Rehabilitated some time ago thanks to a collaboration between local designers and the Cité du Design, it’s the best-value accommodation in our selection.
📍14 bis Rue de Roubaix
🚊 21 minutes by streetcar T1 or T2 to Cité du Design or 22 minutes by bus n°12
Furnished accommodation or bed and breakfast in the Le Corbusier housing unit: the Design Biennial is the perfect opportunity to experience Le Corbusier housing for a weekend or more. Light-flooded through-apartments, volumes on the scale of the Modulor, corridors transformed into streets – in short, something to break the codes of traditional housing. So here’s our selection of accommodations in the Firminy housing unit that will hit the spot: Meublé 7ᵉ rue or Meublé 7ᵉ rue, chambre d’hôte 5ᵉ rue, Meublé 4ᵉ rue, Chambre d’hôte 2ᵉ rue.
📍Rue de la Font du Loup
🚊 + 🚍 42 minutes by bus n°33 + TER (Carnot station) or 🚍 + 🚊 1h12 bus M2 + Tram T2 to Cité du Design
Other places not to be missed in connection with the Saint-Etienne Design Biennial
💚 The 2025 Design Biennial is also the perfect opportunity to explore some of the must-see sites in the Saint-Etienne region. In addition to the Le Corbusier site in Firminy, where the matali crasset exhibition is directly linked to the Biennial, there are many other places to discover. We’ve put together a short selection for you to explore over a weekend or more.
💚 The Musée d’art et d’industrie is the museum of the roots of design in Saint-Etienne. It traces the city’s history and know-how through 3 technical collections: weapons, cycles and ribbons. For the Biennial, we invite you to try out the “L’ambition du beau” exhibition, to learn more about the birth of design in Saint-Étienne.
💚 The Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain or MAMC+. This is the museum that emanates directly from the Museum of Art and Industry. When it was created in 1987, there was a real desire to give more space to modern and contemporary art collections. As a result, the MAMC+ has become the richest museum of its kind in the region, with almost 20,000 works in its own collections. The biennale du design is therefore the perfect opportunity to explore it.
💚 The Museum of Urban and Street Art or MAUSA. It’s the newest addition to the region’s cultural landscape. Above all, it’s the largest museum of its kind in France, with a surface area of 10,000m², and it’s going to give street artists pride of place, with some very unusual exhibitions. The first exhibition is NoMad, featuring 25 international artists and their caravans.
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A great way to explore the Biennale International du Design in all its breadth and depth:
The Saint-Étienne City Pass. In 48 or 72 hours, you can visit a whole host of tourist sites in and around Saint-Étienne on your own. See the list of sites included here. For the biennale du design, a special event pass is available. It is valid for the entire duration of the event, and includes admission to the Cité du design site, the Halles Barrouin site and the Le Corbusier site in Firminy.
Any other questions about the Design Biennial?
Why is Saint-Étienne recognized as a UNESCO City of Design?
Saint Étienne has been recognized as a UNESCO Creative City of Design for its commitment to design as an engine for urban, economic and cultural development. This distinction underlines the importance of design in transforming the city. Saint-Étienne is home to key institutions such as the Cité du design and the École supérieure d’art et design de Saint-Étienne (Esadse). The city is a dynamic center for innovation and creation in the fields of industrial design and the arts, among others.
What museums are dedicated to design in Saint-Étienne?
The Cité du Design is the place to be for design enthusiasts, but not the only one… You can also discover the Musée d’Art et d’Industrie: although this museum is not exclusively dedicated to design, it presents collections that bear witness to Saint-Étienne’s industrial and creative history, including local innovations that are at the roots of design as we know it today.