The Machines of the Isle of Nantes (french: text=Les Machines de l'île) is an artistic, touristic and cultural project based in
Nantes
Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. The project is based in the old covered buildings of the former shipyards in Nantes that were at one time used for ship construction (''les nefs''), and later used as business sites.
Exhibits
The Great Elephant (2007) is a mechanical elephant, and meters wide, made from 45 tons of wood and steel. It can take up to 49 passengers for a 45-minute walk. It is an inexact replica of
The Sultan's Elephant
The Sultan's Elephant was a show created by the Royal de Luxe theatre company, involving a huge moving mechanical elephant, a giant marionette of a girl and other associated public art installations. In French it was called ''La visite du sultan ...
from
Royal de Luxe, which toured the world from 2005 to 2007; the main difference being that this elephant is designed to carry spectators.
The Marine Worlds Carousel (2012) is a huge carousel, rising nearly 25m high and measuring 20m in diameter. It features 35 moving underwater creatures on three levels: the ocean floor, the depths, and sea and boats. Visitors will be able to move about amidst a ballet of aquatic animals and sea carriages, as well as climb aboard and guide the movements of the Machines.
The Heron Tree is an under-construction steel structure planned to be 50 meters in diameter and 30 meters in height, topped with two herons. The project plans to allow visitors to climb either onto the back or onto the wings of the birds for a circular flight over the hanging gardens of the tree.
The Machine Gallery is an exhibition place to illustrate the background story of the machines. Some visitors are invited to control marine animals or the European Flight Test Center. The entire process of the construction is on display by sketches, models and films.
References
External links
The Machines of the Isle of Nantes - Official websiteNantes Metropole Tourism OfficeThe Machines de l'IleYouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel
Photographs of the machines and workshopSlideshow : some pictures of the machines from the Carousel being built
(2010)
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French art
Nantes
Tourist attractions in Nantes
Squash venues