“I had been walking past for a few months. It was now or never to test it! “Amandine, a 28-year-old neo-Nantes resident, waited until Wednesday, one of the very last days, to experience her first descent from the toboggan along the dukes’ castle in Nantes. Because from Sunday evening, the famous 50-meter-long steel tube will bow out. “We had the agreement of the Bâtiments de France to occupy this side of the monument alone, and for a given period,” explains Astrid Gingembre, project director at Voyage à Nantes. It’s a bit sad to take it apart, but it was agreed like that… In any case, it’s a very beautiful adventure that ends! “
Since its installation for the 2017 edition of Voyage à Nantes, it is true that the story of Slipped Landscape, designed by Tact Architects and Tangui Robert, has experienced its share of adventures and surprises. First for the people of Nantes, who have seen this strange work grow (not without technical difficulties) on an essential heritage monument. What arouse, as often, debates and contrasting opinions. “Excellent idea, I think it was an original reinvention of the speaker,” writes Mykha, a user who answered the call for 20 minutes. “It was a bit of a task hanging on the wall like that, judge John for his part. For my part, I tried once, he continues. It’s funny but not transcendent either. “
“Nothing had been put in to amortize on arrival! “
A final remark probably shared by a majority of the tens of thousands of users who paraded there for five summers (30,000 slips recorded in 2021 alone), even if there again, there is everything. “I am a very big fan, enthuses Louise, a student crossed in front of the castle. It’s free, the view from up there is great, and there is still a little adrenaline at the start, especially the first time. Cyril, who wanted to testify, cannot say the same. This father, who “unfortunately volunteered to do the reopening slide after a rainy morning”, was scared of his life when he tumbled down at full speed, his 8-year-old daughter between his legs. He noticed that “nothing had been put in to cushion the finish! “.
The result was a broken tibia “with more than a month and a half in a wheelchair” for him, and a temporary closure for the toboggan, just a few days after it was put into service. ” There have been injuries and a few scratches at the start but we hung on, remembers Astrid Gingembre. We made all the necessary adjustments, and in particular lengthened the finish section, so that this does not happen again. From there, we mostly heard a lot of laughs! “
“Too bad to withdraw it”
Closed when it was too hot to avoid burning your buttocks, forbidden to children under 1.30m and people in flip-flops, the slide quickly became a must for tourists and locals alike. If some Nantes residents say they are happy to see him go, others have a little pang in their hearts. Like Julie, who says she had a good time there with colleagues, and praises its “modern and playful” side. “I think it is a shame to remove it, it is very well integrated into the decor and that adds to the attractiveness of the castle, adds Fabienne. If it’s to throw it away, I don’t see the point in removing it. “
From Monday and for a week, the work will however be dismantled in sections, in the manner of its installation, which did not require any piercing of the wall. “The recyclable material will be taken care of by a recovery network”, indicates the VAN.