Le Figaro Nantes
The bird of wood and steel has not yet crumbled into dust.
He was well on his way.
The metropolis of Nantes launched a public market in February to prepare the technical diagnosis of the Great Blue Heron, which has been sleeping, motionless, for two years, in a corner of the island of machines.
Not so long ago, the beast was admired and acclaimed by crowds.
This remarkable machine, designed as part of the aborted Heron Tree project, had its moment of glory in October 2022, spreading its wings and proudly raising its beak in the Nantes sky.
And then oblivion.
And then the insults of time - and bad weather.
Creator of the Great Heron with Pierre Orefice, François Delarozière tells Le
Figaro
that he is relieved to finally see the public authorities mobilize to save his abandoned machine, owned by Nantes Métropole since May 2022 - a
“very beautiful piece”
, the fruit of the work of around sixty people for two years.
“It hurt my heart to see the work disintegrate.
It has lost its color, and has clearly not been maintained,”
regrets the designer and scenographer of the company La Machine.
First vice-president of Nantes Métropole, Fabrice Roussel (PS), wants to nuance the picture.
“The damage linked to bad weather corresponds to the life of these machines, since from the beginning the heron had to be in the open air, in contact with the climate of the Nantes region,”
he explains to Le
Figaro
.
The technical inventory is part of the usual checks, similar to those that are carried out periodically at the Carrousel des mondes marin, right next to the Machines de l'île
", indicates he at
Figaro
.
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A fragile beast
Half-automaton, half-merry-go-round, the Great Blue Heron is a complex machine which was originally intended to crown the giant mechanical tree and allow visitors to fly into the air, embarked in four baskets or on the balcony of the creature.
According to the original plans, around twenty people were to spin with the wader, at a height of 45 meters.
This major tourist project has since been buried - notably due to soaring costs and criticism of the environmental impact of the project.
A survivor of the project, the Great Blue Heron should however fly again, as an isolated attraction.
As François Delarozière indicates, the machine requires significant restoration, given that it was kept outdoors, near the naves of the Machines de l'île, in a humid area, poorly suited to its plumage and its cogs.
“It is a fragile assembly, whose wing feathers are made of carbon fabric, and whose colored wood and varnish which make up its skin must be taken up and cleaned at least twice a year, not to mention the mechanisms which must be greased,
he lists.
There is nothing worse than a moving machine that is left frozen
.
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According to public procurement documents accessible online, the metropolis would be ready to pay a maximum of 220,000 euros for the technical diagnosis of the Great Blue Heron.
These will only be the first expenses linked to the rehabilitation of the animal, before the rehabilitation project itself.
The total cost of the operation will, however, only represent a fraction of the more than 80 million euros estimated for the Heron Tree at the time of its cancellation.
So many additional bureaucratic costs which happily amuse François Delarozière.
“Our offices are just 20 meters from the machine and we have all the necessary know-how…”
.
The Great Blue Heron should not be approached by the public again before 2025.