Les Machines de l’île (the Machines of the island in English) is an urban playground located at the former shipyards of Nantes. It is part of the Voyage à Nantes trail and reflects the performing arts culture and innovation cluster of the city. Les Machines de l’île is designed to pay homage to the city’s industrial heritage, integrating it with Jules Verne’s and Da Vinci’s work. Les Machines de l’île is an urban theme park, filled with animated art objects in motion, taking visitors on a trip to imagined and fantastical far off places. It has become one of the major attractions of the city.
Les Machines de l’Île are located on Île de Nantes. This is an island in the Loire River, originally comprised of a set of small islands that were joined together at the end of the 19th Century. The area was formerly the main shipbuilding area in Nantes, until the closure of the shipyard in 1987. Nantes Métropole, the owner of the area, initiated the redevelopment of the 337-hectare site. Architect Alexandre Chemetoff came in charge of the rehabilitation of the abandoned warehouses and managed to safeguard the history of the shipyard as a symbol of the industrial and maritime past of Nantes. Les Machines de l’île is located in the “Quartier de la création”, a cluster of cultural projects developed on the island. It combines the physical remains of the shipping history of Nantes with artistic projects. The work of the writer Jules Verne, born in Nantes, provided important inspiration for Les Machines. [1;2]
Les Machines de l’île is a theme park inspired by Jules Verne’s universe, Leonardo DaVinci’s inventions and the city’s industrial heritage. Visitors not only get to see but also experiment and play with the machines. One can take a ride on a giant mechanical elephant (Le Grand Éléphant), take a spin in a massive 25-meter high carousel drawing inspiration from Jules Verne’s ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas’ (Le Carrousel des Mondes Marins), and enjoy outdoor performances and street theatre. Visitors can also pay a visit to the open workspace in which craftsmen and artists are designing and building the machines. Furthermore, a restaurant and a gift shop are located on-site and a museum dedicated to Jules Verne can be found on the opposite bank of the river. Once a year, the area also hosts the Nantes Maker Campus, a multiday makers fair where engineers, manufacturers, artists, science clubs and other tech enthusiasts meet. [1;2]
Currently, a new attraction is being built, called the Herons’ tree, combining a botanical garden with an imaginative city in the sky. [2]
L’île de Nantes is owned by Nantes Métropole. In 2003, Nantes Métropole founded SAMOA, a Société Publique Locale (a local, publicly-owned corporation), to regenerate this area of the city of Nantes. SAMOA acts both as an urban planner for the area and as an economic developer in the field of cultural and creative industries. [1;2] Out of a range of ideas to aid the rejuvenation of the area, the idea of François Delaroziere and Pierre Orefice for Les Machines de l’île gets chosen. [2;3] The idea of their urban playground fitted well with the wish of Nantes Métropole to create an artistic tourist attraction that regenerated the public space. The company La Machine, founded in 1999 as a street theatre company and directed by François Delaroziere, was engaged to manufacture the machines to bring the ideas of François Delaroziere and Pierre Orefice to life. [2]
Les Machines de l’île is owned by Nantes Métropole and managed through Le Voyage à Nantes. This is a Société Publique Locale (a local, publicly-owned corporation) that brings together all local governments of the region. The aim of this corporation is to further establish Nantes as a city for art and culture by promoting cultural projects. Le Voyage à Nantes manages different sites in Nantes, included Les Machines de l’île. [2]
The project of Les Machines de l’île has been financed in two phases. In the first phase, the Grand Elephant and the Galerie des Machines, as well as the construction of the workshop, have been financed by Nantes Métropole (50,4 %), Pays de la Loire Region (26,6 %) and the funding from the European Union (23 %). This first phase amounted to a total of €7.700.000. The second phase, in which Le Carrousel des Mondes Marins was created, has been funded by Nantes Métropole (36,5 %), the European Union (20 %), the French Government (20 %), the Loire Atlantique department (13,5 %) and Pays de la Loire Region (10 %). This phase amounted to a total of €10.000.000. [2]
The Heron’s Tree, the new attraction being currently built by La Machine, is estimated to cost €35.000.000. This sum is brought together in equal parts by Nantes Métropole, public institutions and by private partners (including both enterprises and individuals). [2]
Les Machines de l’Île, organisational website, www.lesmachines-nantes.fr/, accessed on 03-01-2022
Les Machines de l’Île, Press Pack 2019, available at www.lesmachines-nantes.fr/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/DP-MACHINES_2019_GB_BD.pdf, accessed on 03-01-2022
Barthel, P.A. (2009), Faire la preuve de l’urbanisme durable: les enjeux de la régénération de l’île de Nantes, VertigO -la revue électronique en sciences de l’environnement, 9(2), available at doi.org/10.4000/vertigo.8699.