A little over a month after the Heron Tree project was officially abandoned, Pierre Oréfice and François Delarozière, designers of Les Machines de l’île, invite Nantes residents “curious or passionate” about their work to come and attend this Saturday at the flight of the “Great Blue Heron”. Designed in wood, metal, and carbon fiber, this mechanical bird is able to turn in the air by deploying its 16-meter wingspan. It is this same heron who was destined to spin at the top of the famous metal tree.
The meeting is fixed at 4 p.m. sharp, between the Aimé-Césaire school and the Nefs, on the island of Nantes. It will not be a show but a “technical test in public”, specifies the The Machine company. After a successful first flight on May 24, the objective this time will be to carry out an “on-board flight”. About twenty people, mostly members of the team, will climb in the nacelles and on the back of the wader.
Another chance for the Heron Tree?
The essay will last about five minutes* and will be followed by a speech by the authors. “They do not intend to make this moment a platform for the Heron Tree. It will be more of a technical presentation of the project, ”we tell the company La Machine.
The little brother of the Great Blue Heron is visible all year round within the Machine Gallery. It too was destined to culminate at the top of the Heron Tree. Despite the renunciation of Nantes Métropole to continue the ambitious project that the community estimated at around 80 million euros, Pierre Oréfice and François Delarozière received the support of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of Nantes which, she proposes to build the Heron Tree with private funds.
* In case of gusts of wind, the flight of the heron may be canceled