Les Machines de l’île is an unprecedented artistic project that blends the imaginary worlds of Jules Verne, the mechanical universe of Leonardo da Vinci, and the industrial history of Nantes.
The team of builders of the company La Machine have set up their workshop in the industrial warehouses of the former shipyards. The designers let their imagination roam from the treetops to the Savannah or to the ocean depths, building a bestiary of living machines that escape the confines of the workshop to populate this area under redevelopment.
The Marine Worlds Carousel
Located on the banks of the Loire river, opposite the Jules Verne Museum, the Marine Worlds Carousel seems to come out of the isle of Nantes’s belly at the most maritime place of the city.
This giant carousel, almost 25 m high and 20 m of diameter, is an incredible machinery that reawakens fairground art. Three carousels are stacked in a genuine concrete lacework topped by a marquee adorned with pediments, and guarded by 16 fishermen from all the oceans of the world.
The Great Elephant
When the majestic animal goes out for its walk, it is like architecture in motion leaving a steel cathedral. 49 passengers embark on an amazing journey.
On board, you will be able to see the moving gears that power the legs. A machinist will tell you stories about the elephant and make it trumpet for your pleasure.
The Machine Gallery
It houses a Laboratory and a whole bestiary of machines. During your visit, the machinists will explain the history and workings of these strange creatures and give birth to this imaginary world of the Heron Tree. The Gallery is like a performance area where each machine puts on a mini-show lasting five to ten minutes. You can be invited to take control of the animals of the treetops or A mechanical Spider joins the bestiary of the Heron Tree at the heart of the Galerie des Machines. Sleeping in its hole, it is awakened by the machinists who seat four people on its abdomen. It climbs up along its threads, high above the public below.
Contact
Les Machines de l'ile
Parc des Chantiers
Bd Léon Bureau
44 200 Nantes
Phone:
For abroad calls : +33 251 17 49 89
Infoline from France : 0 810 12 12 25