The Role of Art in the Revitalisation of Brownfield Sites—The Case of Nantes

Abstract

The article examines the role of art in the successful revitalisation of brownfield sites in Nantes. The city’s deindustrialization in the 1960s–80s caused a severe economic and social crisis. Significant areas were left behind by the abandoned factories, which were rapidly degrading, negatively affecting the entire city. Many of these were located on a river island in the city centre. Since the early 1990s, the Nantes authorities initiated a process of revitalising brownfield sites. They implemented several culture-led regeneration strategies. Nantes opened up to temporary events: street theatre shows and art festivals. The flagship project and symbol of renewal became Les Machines de Île, mobile, interactive machines that took over the previously degraded island and hark back to its industrial past. Site-specific art installations filled the city. The municipal authorities also started to implement the concept of a creative cluster, concentrating art colleges, cultural facilities, and creativity-related businesses on former wasteland. The use of a variety of strategies brought success, and the results went beyond the revitalised area. Cultural activities became an accelerator of change and contributed to the regeneration process of the city.

1. Introduction

The starting point of this analysis was the experience involved. A moment of intense participation in the life of the city. Flânerie amongst locals and tourists. Finding my bearings and getting lost. Machines on the island: a must. A long walk along the Loire quay ‘to the lifting cranes.’ Breton dance at the castle. Works of art discovered in urban spaces. Chatting with people I happen to meet. Cold lemonade by the School of Architecture in a blue blob that turned out to be a bar. It was only this personal experience of Nantes-style urban planning that gave rise to an in-depth study, a search for answers to the question of how it happened that the ‘sleeping queen,’1 which stagnated after the collapse of the industry that once gave it life, woke up as a pulsating, energetic organism.

This paper aims to present and analyse the policies used in Nantes to overcome the crisis that hit the city in the 1990s. The deindustrialisation processes of the 1960s–1980s deprived the city of significant revenues, generating economic and social problems. Abandoned brownfield areas degraded very quickly and hurt the city as a whole. Since the 1990s, the municipal authorities started revitalizing and integrating these spaces into the metropolitan area. The role of leaven and accelerator of renewal was fulfilled by culture, above all the various forms of artistic activity. Temporary events, such as street theatre shows and art festivals, became a permanent feature of the city’s life. The most important cultural invention, which draws on the city’s industrial history, was the project Les Machines de Île, mobile interactive machines combined with a workshop for visitors. Numerous art installations appeared in the city’s public spaces. The city authorities also began to implement the concept of a creative cluster, bringing together art colleges, cultural institutions, and the creative industries in one area. Using various tools, combined with a unique, flexible, and community-oriented organisational model, proved very successful (Figure 1).

Investment in culture and the revitalisation of degraded areas became a driving force for development throughout the city. The creation of new public spaces, housing estates and office spaces, the growth of the transport network at the city level and intercity and international connections, and the revival of industry are attracting new residents. Sustainability efforts and investment in natural areas secured Nantes the title of European Green Capital in 2013. Work is nearing completion on a new university hospital that will bring together existing facilities, creating a new health district (Rapetti 2019). As a result of the changes taking place, Nantes is among the top ten cities with the highest quality of life in the world (Bernard-Sasges 2024). There were also important changes in the symbolic layer. Nantes gained a new identity, becoming a city of the arts without losing touch with its industrial heritage.

The study on the role of art in the revitalisation of brownfield sites in Nantes used a field research method, during which the author performed analyses of the formal works of art in urban space, their visual qualities, their relationship with the environment, and their iconographic meanings and content. The in situ research also captured urban experiences and ambiances created by the presence of art in public spaces.

The analyses and insights were complemented by a review of the literature on the subject. A comprehensive study on the organisation of the revitalisation process in its initial phase, the methodology adopted, the instruments used, and the role of the different actors in the process is prepared by Devisme et al. (2009). The role of regulations understood as legal provisions for the functioning and transformation of cities, the institutions operating in cities, the interdependence between the participants in these processes, and finally, the organisation of the local political environment in relation to Nantes is presented by Lefeuvre (2015).

Nicolas (2014) compares the model adopted for the regeneration of brownfield sites in Bilbao and the strategies applied in Nantes. She points out the reasons for using different approaches in these cities and the different results of the actions. In doing so, she shows out the advantages of Nantes-style urban planning. The shaping of the main idea of revitalisation is also described by sociologist Violeau (2015). The “invention of the island” of the Île de Nantes in his book is mainly shown from the perspective of the individuals: through interviews and presentations of profiles of politicians, town planners, or architects involved in the design work, among others.

The undeniable impact of the modus operandi adopted in Nantes on the working methodology of architects and urban planners, more flexible and open to dialogue and participation, is shown by Legrand (2016) and Morteau (2020). An interesting perspective of the city as a stage is presented by Gangloff (2016b, 2019). She indicates how street art practices influence the shaping of urban scenography and thus modify the actions of urban planners and architects. An entire 47/2016 issue of the journal l’Observatoire is also devoted to this theme, where the Nantsean urban scene is shown in many different ways (Chemetoff and Freydefont 2016; Gangloff 2016a; Molho and Morteau 2016; Morteau and Sagot-Duvauroux 2016).

Lescop (2019) describes how a dialogue with the past was established in the Ile de Nantes revitalisation projects. He points out that this was made possible by preserving the material remains, such as the original structure of the former industrial halls, but also by referring to the intangible heritage of the skills of the former workers. The past was embodied in the figure of the Great Elephant. Kępczyńska-Walczak (2023) also deals with the issue of preserving the identity of the place and the post-industrial heritage, which is challenging to adapt. However, she does so by describing the investments made on the island.

Extensive analyses of the Les Machines project are included in two diploma theses held in the library of the École supérieure d’architecture de Nantes. Huberson (2007–2008) analyses the phenomenon in the context of contemporary urban renewal methods and the factors shaping urban identity and urban marketing, particularly increasing the competitiveness of regions through investment in culture and tourism. Lambert (2020) analyses the process of project implementation and the role and importance of the different actors in this process. These considerations occur against the background of a broader reflection on city shaping.

The issue of the cultural cluster in Nantes is addressed by Lefeuvre (2015), who writes about organisation and governance. The process of creating a cluster and modifying its concept is analysed by Molho and Morteau (2016), and Léger (Léger 2018) additionally reveals the tensions between key stakeholders and neighbourhood residents that the organisation of a creative neighbourhood raises.

The issue of permanent artworks placed in public space does not appear in any of the above works. Meanwhile, in the author’s opinion, art installations can be an effective tool in the process of revitalising degraded areas, and such an impact can be observed in Nantes. Moreover, their location in the city on the Loire is not limited to former brownfield sites. The whole of Nantes is now an open-air gallery, with new exhibits added every year. Creating a network of art installations became a factor in integrating brownfield sites with the rest of the city. At the same time, it expresses and consolidates Nantes’ new identity as a city of the arts. For this reason, in the following work, the author chose to identify and describe the issue of the artwork in public space as an equal element in the renewal process of Nantes. She also considered it important to relate the practices used there to broader processes present in the development of contemporary art: site-specific art, understood in many ways, from the most literal to the conventional, and different models of participation.

2. Background Theory

2.1. The Role of Culture in Urban Revitalisation

The revitalisation of urban spaces is a complex process that aims to bring degraded areas out of crisis by increasing social and economic activity, improving the living environment and protecting the local cultural heritage, both material and spiritual. It requires coordinated action, carried out jointly by the local authority, the local community, and other participants.

The basis of successful revitalisation is the identification of social actors and groups whose interests may be involved in the process, the analysis of their needs, mutual relations, fields of potential conflicts or cooperation, and then a search for optimal solutions for the largest possible group of stakeholders.

Successful revitalisation is also a commercial endeavour, allowing funds to be committed from a variety of sources. Important fields of action are socio-cultural, legal-institutional, economic, technological, and urban. The latter, with a particular focus on qualitative changes in urban space, cover problems not only of architectural and urban planning standards but also the quality of the revitalised space in terms of aesthetics, social climate, and public safety. The organisational aspect, concerning the modelling of revitalisation processes, is also important (Roberts et al. 2016).

Culture, especially the arts, can play an important role in this complex process. In order to bring it into the urban revitalisation process, cities use different models, sometimes combining them.

The first is culture-led regeneration. Cultural activity is seen here as a catalyst and driver of regeneration of an entire city. This model sometimes involves the use of a flagship project: the erection or adaptation of a building for cultural purposes or the creation of a complex with a similar role. Such an object becomes a symbol of renewal and simultaneously a magnet, concentrating residents around it, attracting tourists and investors. It is also possible in this model to show the uniqueness of an area by identifying and making visible its cultural heritage. Another strategy is to organise wide-ranging cultural events. Sometimes cities use more than one tool. For this model, the image aspects are also important in that actions on an urban and architectural scale, as well as the organisation of events, are accompanied by efforts to highlight the uniqueness of the revitalised cities.

The second model is cultural regeneration, where cultural activities are part of a wider urban policy; are fully integrated into the adopted strategy for the area; and coexist with the environmental, social, and economic spheres.

The third, called culture and regeneration, includes small-scale projects. In this model, revitalisation through culture is not fully embedded in the city’s strategic development and planning process. However, cultural projects support the regeneration process (Evans and Shaw 2004; Jagodzińska 2013; Léger 2018).

Over time, a fourth model emerged, which is that of the creative or cultural cluster. This concept involves concentrating various cultural actors in a single area. Ideally, this will synergistically enhance the results they achieve, including the economic domain (Cooke and Lazzeretti 2008).

After all, these political–organisational models do not indicate what ‘practical’ benefits come from introducing artistic activity into problem areas. One of these is undoubtedly the capacity for positive transformation of an aesthetic nature, especially when permanent facilities are introduced. Sculptures, installations, and murals change the previous character of technically or socially neglected spaces. In addition to improving sensory qualities, creating an atmosphere, and offering new experiences, the presence of works of art removes the stigma of degradation and gives them a new identity. Art pieces in public space can enrich the symbolic layer by recalling, bringing out forgotten local narratives or/and introducing new content.

It is also important to impact the social fabric, create a relationship between the local community and the work, generate interpersonal links, develop new behaviours or social attitudes, promote cultural diversity, and combat exclusion. Participatory art activities enhance participants’ sense of agency, those located in spaces that are important to them, and also the confidence and pride that comes from belonging (Wojtowicz-Jankowska 2019; Vahtrapuu 2021).

The revitalisation of urban spaces through culture is, however, fraught with the possibility of unintended adverse effects. Creating a high-impact cultural facility that is not narratively linked to the place it is established poses a threat to local identity (Nicolas 2014). On the other hand, exploiting the unique qualities of an area often leads to “disneyfication” through the commercialisation and consumption of local landmarks. Local narratives become shallow to attract more users (Zukin 1998). In both situations, the local community loses its identification with the place.

Gentrification processes are taking place in the revitalised areas. The expectation that investments in culture will more than pay for themselves can result in representative areas being handed over to the pleasure and entertainment industry while at the same time excluding existing users, who are often economically or politically weak. Rising rents also force them to leave their homes and are replaced by better-off people. The same applies to local entrepreneurs, artisans, and vendors, for whom rental prices also become too high and their services do not meet the new users’ needs (sometimes purely for image purposes). Revitalised neighbourhoods thus lose their former residents, who often determined the local character. In this way, the existing social ties that connect these people are broken (Skot-Hansen 2008; Zukin 2010).

Tourism growth is also pushing up property prices while generating the need to adapt urban facilities for short-term use. Hotels, pubs, restaurants, and souvenir shops are displacing medical clinics or food shops. Deprived of the opportunity to meet their daily needs, residents are additionally confronted with congestion and noise. These phenomena generate numerous conflicts and stimulate protests (Postma and Schmücker 2017).

The problems outlined place the responsibility on city authorities and regeneration leaders to carry out the transformation sustainably, respecting all stakeholders.

2.2. Doctrinal Assumptions of Revitalisation in France

France has significant merits in preparing and implementing urban regeneration and revitalisation policies. The organisational, financial, and legal tools being developed are based on public–private partnerships and include the broadest possible range of stakeholders in the decision-making process. Consequently, the economic calculus, albeit very important, is not the primary determinant when taking action, and free-market mechanisms are subject to adjustments, particularly revisions of a humanist nature stemming from the conviction that behind urban renewal processes are the dramas of people losing their place to live, losing their capital, or facing the fact that what belongs to them is greatly diminishing in value. These tools emphasise solidarity and address social dislocation. They assess the effects on property rights and the employment of those affected, facilitate tailored solutions, and consider the implications for the wider community. This approach is helped by treating all stakeholders in partnership, creating space for discussion, and allowing for the development of ideas and forces beyond the concepts and rational considerations expressed by the initial participants. Boundaries and inconsistencies between public interest, procedures, laws, and public funding lines are weakening to allow strategic partnerships to define objectives and implement actions. This approach results in considerable flexibility and openness to new concepts in revitalizing specific areas, moving away from the paradigm of expert infallibility (Badariotti 2006; Heyraud 2010).

Undoubtedly, the decentralisation of power in France in the 1980s supported the creation of the French revitalisation model. The role of the central government became one of activating, supporting, coordinating, supervising, and informing rather than directly leading or funding programmes. Numerous competences were transferred to the rulers of smaller territorial units, which allowed actions to be better adapted to local specificities (Skalski 2009).

The empowerment of the regions was accompanied by an awareness of their specific characteristics, which created the need for a differentiated cultural policy. It brought about increased regional competition and the need for promotion; therefore, in the 1990s, it contributed to the birth of image politics and territorial marketing (Huberson 2007–2008).

3. Case Study: The Revitalisation of Brownfield Sites in Nantes

3.1. Legacy and Decline

Nantes is located in Brittany, west of France, near the mouth of the Loire River on the Atlantic Ocean. The coastal location was the most significant factor in the town’s development, already supporting fishing since the Bronze Age and allowing for increasingly extensive trade contacts. In the 17th century, the port of Nantes gained international status thanks to the development of the French colonial empire, for it became an important centre for exchanges with the French Antilles and Africa as part of the so-called triangular trade. Local goods (of low value) flowed to Africa, where they were exchanged for slaves, who were then transported to the Antilles to work on the plantations there. Returning ships brought sugar, coffee and cocoa, tobacco, and cotton. In the 18th century, Nantes became the most important slave port in France. Human trafficking, an infamous aspect in the city’s history, brought many different benefits. Shipyards, including those owned by the Dubigeon family, began to emerge in Nantes, and the sugar and textile industries also developed. The municipal authorities began tidying up the hitherto chaotic town in terms of urban planning, and new streets and squares were created. The growing fortunes of the ship owners and traders prompted them to build magnificent mansions. Traces of the slave trade can still be seen in the decoration of the houses on the former island of Feydeau (Croix et al. 2017; Lambert 2020).

Industry development in the 19th century was also driven mainly by formerly commercial activities. Its profits were a source of financial investment in new factories. However, they were also a determinant of business profiles: the shipbuilding industry was developing, as was the food industry: sugar refineries, biscuit production, and canning, among others. In their wake, the metallurgical and engineering industries flourished, providing all other branches with the necessary equipment. In the twentieth century, locomotive or aerospace plants, among others, were added. The 1960s marked the beginnings of the city’s deindustrialisation, with more factories leaving Nantes. The oil crises of the 1970s accelerated the decline of manufacturing in the city. In 1986, the last ship was launched at the Dubigeon shipyard, marking the end of several centuries of maritime activity in the city’s heart—and the final economic collapse. Its effect was an economic crisis but also a social collapse, with thousands of workers losing their jobs, source of income, and self-esteem (Croix et al. 2017). There was a shattering of the city’s identity, which was based on its specific industrial and port activities that set it apart from other cities (Léger 2018). The post-industrial areas became derelict and rapidly degraded, which particularly affected the island at the heart of the city in the fork of the Loire, formed by the amalgamation of smaller islands and still called by some of their names, Sainte-Anne, Beaulieu, or Madeleine. Deserted areas negatively impacted the metropolis as a whole (Kępczyńska-Walczak 2023). What was once a source of wealth turned into a burden. It became a legacy bringing shame and a sense of threat, becoming unwanted and rejected.

3.2. The Beginnings of a Revival

In 1989, the election for mayor of marauding Nantes was won by Jean-Marc Ayrault, who served in successive terms for 23 years until 2012. Immediately after his first election, he commissioned the urban architects Dominique Perrault and François Grether to conduct a preliminary urban study of Nantes, focusing on the island (1991–1994). The idea of reclaiming former brownfield sites was pioneered in France then. The first step in connecting the island to the city had a symbolic dimension: it was named Île de Nantes (Violeau 2015).

Jean-Marc Ayrault made investment in culture a pillar of his policy. One of the first initiatives was to invite the theatre group Royal de Luxe to Nantes; the company received a financial grant, a spacious warehouse on the island, and the support of the municipal services for their activities. This “company of inventors, stuntmen, poets and scrap dealers all at the same time” was involved in organising street performances, using huge puppets and set pieces created by its members. As early as 1990, the show The True Story of France premiered in Nantes and was later presented at the Avinion festival and in many French cities. This performance was followed, in 1992, by Cargo 92, which formed part of the celebrations for the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America. A replica of the Nantes Street was built in the cargo ship’s hold, and the ship visited six countries and seven ports on the Atlantic coast of Latin America. Another project is the Le Havre-initiated The Giant Fallen from the Sky, a three-day performance first presented in Nantes in 1994. The performance activated the audience. It was held in many parts of the city, sometimes with different events taking place at the same time. Each day, the audience had to find the Giant in the city to learn the rest of the story, sometimes adding to each other’s overlooked bits. The free outdoor shows attracted a broad audience, encouraging people to rediscover their own city. Moreover, at the same time, they initiated the creation of an image of Nantes as a centre for the arts: both among the inhabitants, increasingly proud of the place they lived in, and externally, which generated the development of tourism (Royal de Luxe 2025; Legrand 2016; Lambert 2020).

Jean Blaise, then the director of the Centre for Cultural Development Research, played a significant role in adapting the Île de Nantes for artistic activities. It was he who created and, from 1990 to 1995, organized successive editions of the festival Les Allumées, a six-day, six-night celebration of the arts during which invited artists from chosen, particular cities showcased their skills. In 1990, it was Barcelona, then, successively, St. Petersburg, Buenos Aires, Naples, and Cairo (for 1995, it was supposed to be Havana, but the festival did not take place because the artists could not leave Cuba). Shows were organised in various parts of the city, including such non-obvious areas as post-industrial sites with their abandoned factories and halls, such as the former ice-cream factory, which hosted artists from Spain, or the former Lefèvre-Utile (LU) biscuit factory, turned into an Egyptian bazaar. As with the street performances, these events also allowed residents to change their opinion of places previously associated with crime and decay while creating a new identity for the city. Significantly, it was increasingly associated with an industrial past, and at the same time, they initiated its international reputation. The organisation of the festival forced the first investments on the island. In order to accommodate thousands of people, almost 500 m³ of rubble had to be removed, electrical and plumbing systems had to be adapted, and a bar and restaurants had to be set up (Léger 2018).

The closure of Les Allumées did not mean the end of the cyclical artistic events that continue to this day. Examples of efforts in this direction were the three editions of the Estuaire contemporary art festival, also organised on the initiative of Jean Blaise along the Loire estuary, from Nantes to Saint-Nazaire, in 2007, 2009, and 2012 (Legrand 2016; Léger 2018; Lambert 2020). Permanent installations were also created for the event, which became part of the city’s landscape. In 2011, the same animator proposed the Voyage à Nantes, an annual tourist festival that covered the city’s main attractions. They were connected by a green line, another visible sign of the significant role of culture in the space (Lambert 2020). The festival is held annually, and after each edition, more works remain in the city. Music was also used in an innovative way in Nantes. Organised by René Martin since 1995, the La Folle Journée festival (Crazy Days) freed classical music from the hallowed traditions of concert halls and is bringing it to a wider audience (Legrand 2016).

3.3. The Artistic Component in the Urban and Architectural Transformation of the Post-Industrial Areas of Nantes

3.3.1. Programme Assumptions and Organisational Model

In the second half of the 1990s, the municipal authorities began working to consolidate ephemeral artistic practices in the city. The strategy was to embed the organising institutions in permanent locations, particularly in post-industrial buildings, thereby simultaneously preserving the historical substance of them. Here, the use of the former Lefèvre-Utile (LU) pastry factory on Quai Ferdinand-Favre, built in the 19th century and enhanced at the beginning of the 20th century with two Art Nouveau towers, can be cited as an example. After production ceased, the building deteriorated. Its cultural potential was revealed by an edition of the Les Allumées festival and other events, so in 1997, the Nantes municipal authorities decided to renovate it and turn it into a cultural centre. The work was led by Patrick Bouchain, and the only surviving tower was restored by Jean-Marie Lépinay. In 2000, Lieu Unique, a modern cultural centre open to all areas of the arts, began operating here (Legrand 2016; Le Voyage à Nantes 2025).

The tidying up of the Île de Nantes became an important issue, and a competition for a master plan for the space was organised in 1998, accompanied by numerous discussions with local associations and open public meetings. The competition was won by a team led by landscape designer Alexandre Chemetoff. What distinguished their proposal from other refined and rigorous projects was its indicative and non-normative nature reflecting not so much concrete solutions as directions for change and a modus operandi of gradual refinement and updating of details as implementation progressed in a systematic way (Figure 2). Chemetoff’s credo was to construct situations taking into account that a city is always a combination of circumstances. He identified the integration of the island with the city and the city with the river as a goal and based the project on a network of public spaces and, at the same time, the search for connectivity with the cultural heritage of the place (Devisme et al. 2009; Violeau 2015; Chemetoff and Freydefont 2016; Lescop 2019). Management of the work was entrusted to SAMOA (Société d’Aménagement de la Métropole Ouest Atlantique), the West Atlantic Metropolis Development Corporation, created in 2003, and led by Laurent Théry, a company partly based on outsourcing but still linked to the local authority, representing as many project stakeholders as possible. An important aspect of SAMOA’s work was public consultation and participatory activities among residents (Nicolas 2014; Legrand 2016; Morteau 2020).

Initially, thinking about directions for the revitalisation of Nantes was greatly influenced by the success of Bilbao in Spain. Both the earlier economic boom and the later problems of this city had a similar origin to that of Nantes. Bilbao developed as a port city and an important centre for shipbuilding and metallurgy. The city began to decline after the economic crisis of the 1970s. The final chord was the closure of the Euskalduna shipyard in 1986. In turn, the revival came largely through the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation’s Museum of Modern Art, built to a design by Frank O. Gehry. The extravagant building immediately became an architectural icon and a landmark of the city. It brought fame, attracted crowds of tourists, and contributed to an economic boom and the realisation of further investments, often also by stars of world architecture. Basing economic development on culture became an axiom, with many city authorities keen to replicate Bilbao’s success. The Nantes authorities kept a close eye on the Spanish city’s regeneration policy. However, it soon became apparent that copying the solutions used there was not possible. On the one hand, no investor appeared ready to offer Nantes a similar museum building, while the city itself was not in a position to bear such costs. On the other hand, the Bilbao model was increasingly criticised, not least because of its unifying nature, failing to take into account local specificities (Bilbao’s brownfield sites were razed) and the commodification of culture (Huberson 2007–2008; Nicolas 2014; Lescop 2019; Kępczyńska-Walczak 2023).

The abandonment of the flagship of star-architecture did not change the perception in Nantes of culture as a fundamental tool for urban development and a dominant thread in urban planning. At the same time, the search began for a way to incorporate the city’s past into the project. The public consultation identified the need to respect the industrial and port heritage and the importance of maritime identity, which was taken into account in the programme assumptions (Devisme et al. 2009). In practice, this was translated into keeping interventions to a minimum and aiming to preserve the material substance, from the production halls and warehouses to the former slipways to the original pavements, the reuse of remnants, and even old rails or stones and bricks. The intention was not to create a completely new identity for the city, but to treat the past as a starting point for shaping its image (Lescop 2019). The Island was never to be the same again but at the same time never to become radically different (Violeau 2015). The Parc des Chantiers (Shipyard Park) was therefore created in the north-west of the island on degraded wasteland, formed with great care and respect. Two cranes situated on the waterfront have become a sign of their former purpose: a yellow one, once owned by the Dubigeon shipyard (Figure 3), and a grey one, owned by the former port (Nantes Patrimonia 2025). They are strong spatial dominants of the park and are kind of art installations, recycled ready-made objects.

3.3.2. Les Machines de Île Project

The Chantiers park is where the island’s main art project, Les Machines de Île, was realised. Its creators, François Delarozière and Pierre Oréfice, came from the Royal de Luxe. The former was the creator of sets, machines, and puppets for the shows, while the latter was involved in the production of the performances. The impetus for the creation of the machines was the desire to give permanence to an ephemeral urban spectacle while at the same time creating a place aimed at both children and adults and diametrically opposed to traditional theme parks. The main difference was to be that the project was rooted in the urban space, in everyday life, as opposed to typical attractions located outside the city and outside life. The concept drew on the tradition of street performances, as their eccentric aesthetic gained the approval of Nantes residents, but the authors also drew on the city’s industrial past and the island’s workers’ ethos. The Île de Nantes was once again to become a place where machines were made, where the expertise of the old workers survived. An additional layer of meaning, not originally intended by the authors, was brought about by the city authorities’ interest in the figure of Jules Verne, who was born in Nantes, and the reference to unusual constructions from his novels (Lescop 2019).

Delarozière and Oréfice’s proposal competed with other ideas, such as the very strongly supported slavery museum, the naval and trade museum, or the concept of ‘ships of industry’ combining industrial themes from the past with the development and dissemination of new technologies. Eventually, in 2004, the municipal authorities adopted the Les Machines project, which was much cheaper than the star-architecture building and could be phased. Therefore, the focus was not on a single site but on an entire island. The opening took place in 2007. The showpiece of the project and the first completed machine became the Great Elephant,2 a twelve-metre high structure mostly made of wood and metal, which roamed, and still does, around the island, transporting visitors and releasing water from the trunk. The elephant became the host of the island, showing the city from an unusual perspective, drawing attention to the former brownfield sites (Lescop 2019) (Figure 4). The exhibition also included a more ‘musealised’ part: a workshop, located in one of the halls of the former shipyard with a footbridge, allowing the makers to be observed at work, and a gallery with models of more machines. The project was very well received by Nantes residents and visitors to the city. During the first month, the number of visitors exceeded 50,000 and, in the first year, 288,000. Undoubtedly, the ludic nature of the event, reminiscent of street performances and understandable to everyone, as well as the opportunity for interaction, contributed to this. The authors also ensured quality by avoiding plastic. The steam-punk aesthetic, associated with the age of steam, is expressed in high-quality materials and a tradition of excellent craftsmanship. The machines were built by people who had experience in woodcarving, leatherworking, or metalworking. Later, more machines were created, including mobile and interactive ones, and the Carrousel des mondes marins (Carousel of marine worlds) (Figure 5), referencing the harbour past and distant voyages, opened at Parc des Chantiers in 2012 (Huberson 2007–2008; Nicolas 2014; Chemetoff and Freydefont 2016; Gangloff 2016a; Lambert 2020; Les Machines 2025).

The appearance of the Great Elephant had a very strong impact on the visual identity of the city. The elephant, poetically linked to its past and a vehicle for new urban myths, became a symbol, an emblem of Nantes, used to build local identity and promote the city externally (Huberson 2007–2008; Gangloff 2016b).

Despite the success of the venture, the city decided so far not to expand the project by the garden with the giant l’Arbre aux Hérons (Heron Tree), proposed by Delarozière and Oréfice. The installation would have stood on the other side of the Loire at the Miséry quarry, the former Brasseries de la Meuse wilderness, extending the concept to another part of the city. The cost of EUR 35 million is proving too high for the municipal budget and socially unacceptable.

3.3.3. Works of Art in Public Spaces

Creating an image of Nantes as a city of art resulted in an openness to artistic experimentation outside the gallery framework. Artworks produced this way are characterised by great diversity in terms of the thematic threads, the techniques used, and the scale and strength of the aesthetic intervention in the surrounding urban space. So far, they have not been scientifically developed. It is impossible to list them all within the framework of the following study, so a few, representing some of the directions, are presented below. The criterion for selection is the particular relationship of the works with the city and its users, which takes place on different levels: 1. towards the users, which is mainly manifested in encouraging them to interact; 2. towards the urban landscape; 3. towards particular buildings; and 4. towards the history of the city. Art pieces are presented in this order in the article, taking into consideration their most understandable meaning. However, some works establish more than one type of relationship; the links are summarised in

Table 1. A compilation of the types of relationships presented by the works of art mentioned in the article. Elaborated by the author.

Artwork	Interaction with Users	Interaction with the Urban Landscape	Interaction with a Particular Building	Interaction with History of the City
L’Arbre à Basket	v	v
Ping-Pong Park	v
Feydball	v	v
Traverses	v	v
L’Absence	v	v	v
Les Anneaux	v	v		v
Nymphéa		v
Mètre à Ruban			v
Le Passage	v		v
Mémorial de l’abolition de l’esclavage	v	v	v	v

at the end of the subsection.

Interaction with users:

Many works are the setting for the users’ daily activities, making them obvious and somewhat ‘transparent.’ These include, for example, sports facilities. L’Arbre à Basket from 2012, designed by the a/LTA agency, was set up in the Parc des Chantiers near the children’s playground. It is a metal structure shaped like a simplified tree, to which basketball hoops are attached at different heights (Figure 6). The visually appealing form allows people of different heights to participate, for several teams to play simultaneously, or for creative innovation of the rules. Several playing fields designated on the pitch were added to the tree (Le Voyage à Nantes 2025).

The installation Ping-Pong Park by Laurent Perbos from 2017, placed, or perhaps rather, unfortunately, hidden, in an intimate garden at the Quai François Mitterrand is a gaming table enhanced by a blue spiral hoop (Figure 7) (Le Voyage à Nantes 2025). The utilitarian sculpture diversifies the game with unexpected bounces of the ball in surprising directions, defying the established logic of the game.

Feydball from 2015, designed by Barré-Lambot Architectes, is a play on unusual form and optical illusion (Figure 8). The ball pitch is in the shape of a crescent, and the terrain’s unevenness is also preserved. At the same time, a curved mirror is added here, whose reflection creates a kind of anamorphosis, showing the playing field as a rectangle but deforming the players’ figures.

Traverses by Aurélien Bory 2016 is a work that was created during the redevelopment of Boulevard Léon-Bureau. It is a 15-metre wide, busy street on the Île de Nantes, connecting the Parc des Chantiers and the quartier de la Création. The work aim to slow down car traffic and create a public space connecting all users, car drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians, in a safe, collision-free way, without introducing traffic lights. The introduction of the art installation was intended to give the place an individual character and meaning, alluding to the creative factor on the island while at the same time not disrupting its functionality but supporting it. A proposal by Aurélien Bory, set designer, choreographer, and director, was selected for realisation, proposing to highlight pedestrian crossings through intersecting wavy lines (Figure 9). The peculiar dance of public transport is graphically reflected on the surface of the street. It invites users to interact and is reminiscent of childish games played ‘in passing’ while wandering around the city (Traverses 2016).

A utilitarian object that, contrary to its name, cannot be overlooked, is the L’Absence bar by Atelier Van Lieshout from 2009. It is built on the banks of the Loire next to the School of Architecture, which opened in the same year (Figure 10). The contourless blue block appears to be created from ice or sea foam and contrasts with the straight lines of the neighbouring building. This is a deliberate effect, intended to make the school’s students think more deeply about architecture. In turn, extensive windows were inserted on the river side, opening the pavilion to nature (Le Voyage à Nantes 2025).

Interaction with the urban landscape:

Among the works of art that are particularly in tune with the topography and architecture of the city, it is worth mentioning Les Anneaux, which Daniel Buren and Patrick Bouchain designed for the 2007 Estuaire Festival. The installation consists of a sequence of 18 silver rings, attached to old bollards on the quay of the Île de Nantes—Quai des Antilles. It highlights both the natural line of the Loire and the historical setting of the former deep-sea port (Le Voyage à Nantes 2025). The landscape value of the installations is undeniable; they have an impact not only as a whole but also individually, offering framed views of the city (Figure 11). At night, the rings are illuminated in red, blue, and green, corresponding to the current function of the former banana-ripening plant, which houses a nightclub alongside the exhibition hall, restaurant, and bars. The artists did not impose an interpretation of their work on the viewers; it can be read on many levels: the nuptials using rings of sea, river, and land; the merging of two eras, the city’s maritime past and contemporary urban and architectural transformations; and finally, the reference to the hoops restraining enslaved people are the most frequently indicated themes.

The city’s topography is also linked to Nymphéa by Ange Leccia in 2007. It is a video installation that, after nightfall, appears where one of the tributaries of the Loire, the river Erdre, is trapped in a tunnel and emerges (Figure 12). The work is an image of the actress Laetitia Casta, who plays a role of a water nymph or mermaid here (Le Voyage à Nantes). The movement of the water gives the work a gentle dynamic and emphasises the contemplative character. The work’s title seems to suggest a reference to the work of Claude Monet, as nymphéa is also the term for the water flower, often present in this artist’s work.

Interaction with a particular building:

The pop art-like convention includes 2013’s Mètre à Ruban, a huge yellow tape measure designed by Lilian Bourgeat and mounted in picturesque twists in the courtyard at the headquarters of the construction company Aethica (Figure 13). The artist found beauty in a simple tool, an obvious accessory for any architect, urban planner, or creator of urban-scale art installations, and she herself described it as a ‘self-portrait.’ She also managed to make the audience feel like tiny characters from the old Nantes stories about giants (Le Voyage à Nantes 2025).

The opposite of this eye-catching, overscaled installation is the lyrical Le Passage by Eva Jospin, installed in 2019, placed in a 50-metre walkway between Tour-d’Auvergne and Pierre-Landais streets, connecting homes and offices (Figure 14). The artist stretched delicate twigs of brass, copper wires, chains, and gilded paper on a truss of metal ropes. The work completely changes the aura of the austere, minimalist architecture of the walkway, creating an ephemeral canopy above the heads of passers-by and allowing the sun to create delicate drawings on the walls and floor.

Interaction with history of the city:

The tragic fate of the slaves, transported by Nantes ships, is commemorated. In 2012, the Mémorial de l’abolition de l’esclavage (Memorial to the Abolition of Slavery) by Krzysztof Wodiczko and Julian Bonder was unveiled (Figure 15). It is located on the banks of the Loire, on the Quai de la Fosse, which is a significant location. It was here that there was a port from which slave ships departed. The monument is also incorporated into a symbolic–architectural–urban premise. It is situated opposite the Palace of Justice (arch. Jean Nouvel, 2000) and a footbridge, connecting the city to the island, named after Victor Schœlcher, who led the outlawing of slavery in France in 1848. The monument is based on two gestures, unveiling and immersion, and consists of an underground and an above-ground section. The underground section is a 140-metre-long walkway made of concrete and glass that lets in narrow lines of light reflected from the water. It is a very discreet but evocative recreation of the ship’s hold. The experience is enriched with words and sound, and one can read and listen to texts related to slavery. At the end of the walkway there is a telescope with a view of the Palace of Justice. The 350-metre-long above-ground section mainly features the names of slave ships embedded in the granular pavement, engraved on glass panels (Figure 16). They are extremely numerous: as many as 2000, which makes the visitors aware of the scale of the practice (Ostolski and Wodiczko 2013).

3.3.4. Creative Quarter

Even the first cultural activities on Île de Nantes meant that the area attracted artists, especially at the beginning of the transformation, when land was relatively cheap there. The cluster of artists formed spontaneously. In order to strengthen the island’s artistic potential, the municipal authorities decided not to stop at just introducing Les Machines to the brownfield site but to dedicate the western end of the island of Nantes to a creative quarter. It was intended to bring together art colleges (such as L’école nationale supérieure d’architecture: School of Architecture or L’école des Beaux-Arts Nantes Saint-Nazaire: School of Fine Arts), cultural and tourist facilities, and small businesses related to the arts. Initially, in line with the methodology of the operations on the island, a structured, predictable approach did not emerge. Over time, with the development of the concept of ‘creative and cultural industries’, promoted by the European Union and the belief that culture carries economic value, the concept of the cluster emerged. It was reinforced by the increasingly popular views of Richard Florida, who proclaimed that the most important factor in the development of territories was the concentration of the creative class (Florida 2010).

Between 2005 and 2012, Nantes took part in the European Union’s Economic Cluster of Cultural Enterprises and the European Cultural and Creative Industries Alliance programmes and became part of the Eurocities network, linking up with other cities developing creative clusters. The departure of Alexandre Chemetoff and Laurent Therry in 2010 and the assumption of Jean-Luc Charles as director of SAMOA accelerated the implementation of the economic strategy on the island. In 2012, a team was set up to organise the Quartier de la Création. The project centre is located in the former Alstom production halls. According to the logic of creative clusters, territorial proximity is supposed to facilitate cooperation between higher education in their scientific and teaching dimensions, creators, and entrepreneurs. The Quartier de la Création’s activities resulted in a concentration of universities related to creativity in the broadest sense; numerous companies in the fields of architecture, art, design, media, and events; and the CityLab urban laboratory to support creative activities (Lefeuvre 2015; Legrand 2016).

In Nantes, the urban factor was also incorporated, assuming work for the creation of the city and its use, developing three axes: sustainable and integrated city, space, lifestyle, and health; well-being; and a better life (Morteau 2020).

The formation of the Quartier de la Création, however, raised a number of questions and concerns about the applicability of the cluster concept to artistic creation and the economic instrumentalization of culture. Hence, the attempts to reorganise governance and increase the participation of grassroots community initiatives and, at the same time, the semantic change with regard to the venture follow suit. The notion of a creative community was intended to emphasise the importance of bottom-up dynamics and voluntary collaboration. Another alternative to the cluster became the theatre-like scene, not so much in the sense of linking a specific art genre to a place with more or less clear boundaries but rather in the spirit of urban and cultural sociology, focusing on the norms and messages conveyed by artists and their audiences. Cultural actors are not seen here solely as economic actors and producers of cultural goods but also as social actors who mobilise in defence of values (Lefeuvre 2015; Legrand 2016; Molho and Morteau 2016; Morteau and Sagot-Duvauroux 2016).

4. Discussion

In the transformation of Nantes’ brownfield sites, it is particularly interesting that the experimental methodology of urban-scale activities drew on practices present in various artistic fields and emerging new phenomena. The new proposals marked a clear break from previous practices in which works of art were separated by a distance from the audience, whose role was reduced to disinterested contemplation. First and foremost, the site-specific art, which was developing since the late 1960s, should be mentioned, where artistic activities are adapted to specific places, usually not traditionally recognised spaces for the presentation of art such as museums or theatre. This brings a wider audience into contact with contemporary art. This contextualisation originally referred to physical locations, for example, landscape or urban locations.

Over time, as the understanding of the word ‘place’ evolved towards symbolic meanings, including social, political, or economic aspects, site-specific art became increasingly associated with public space. Artists began to take into account not only the sensually accessible aspects of the reality they found but also the needs of the users, resulting in a dialogue. As a result, it led to the development of various forms of participation, including situations conducive to encounters, social interaction in the spirit of Nicolas Bourriaud’s relational aesthetics, or activist efforts to carry out positive social change (Kwon 2004; Urwanowicz-Rojecka 2015). It also involved an openness to dialogue in urban planning and a willingness to modify decisions made. In participatory art, the role of the author is altered in relation to traditional art activities. An artist abandons the solitary act of creation in favour of co-authorship. They lose complete control over the process and the final result in favour of the collaboration and well-being of all participants. This approach is also visible in the methodology of the Nantes activities.

The above has to do with yet another direction of change in culture in the second half of the 20th century: the acceptance of popular art. The breakthrough of pop art meant not only the inclusion of everyday objects within the realm of art but also an appreciation of so-called mass aesthetics, treating it on a par with art considered to be high art. The ability of popular art to attract and thus incorporate large audiences into cultural activities, creating positively charged experiences and atmospheres of places was used in Nantes as a tool to change perceptions of brownfield sites, creating a relationship between residents, the city, and each other. These activities opened up the community to bolder, more challenging phenomena in artistic expression.

The aspect of the role of theatricalization or urban scenography also appears in analyses of Nantes’ urban revitalisation. Nantes transformed into an open-air stage during performances by the Theatre Royal de Luxe, set against a backdrop of squares and streets but also post-industrial wastelands and abandoned hangars. The found environment became part of the decoration, changing the perception of the city by the participants in the events on many levels. By revealing the dramatic potential of urban spaces, audiences too began to treat the city in part as a setting for theatrical action. This was particularly important for changing attitudes towards brownfield sites, as making them a field of artistic experimentation took the odium of crime habitats off them. Participation in street performances served to build a bond with the city, create a collective and individual identity, integrate residents, and encourage civic engagement. This was also fostered by the stories told, rooted in the town, the seed of a local myth, a great story in which the inhabitants left their position as passive spectators and became actors, especially since these stories were not imposed on them but grew out of the past and connected to the present (Gangloff 2016b, 2019).

Temporary art practices influenced urban planning and permanent architecture. The presence of the artists, their activities, was recorded in the city, and the urban story evolved with it. Nantes became a city open to a variety of artistic experiments, and the urban area was gradually shaped in a way that makes them possible and favours the formation of a new form of urban life, new urban experiences, and new moods (ambiances) and emotions. In Les Machines, a network of art installations, the creative quarter grew out of a scenographic culture. The municipal authorities supported this activity. They saw the social value of such activities, a way of pulling residents out of the morass following the collapse of industry and at the same time an excellent way to distinguish the city from others and promote it (Gangloff 2016b, 2019).

Can this utopia moving towards the reality of a communal life emerging from the meeting of art, city, and environment (Gangloff 2016b) really come to fruition? The city’s success seems to answer this question in the affirmative. However, some problematic areas emerge in light of the research conducted. Firstly, in Nantes, attempts to involve residents in the process of revitalisation was rather top-down (Morteau 2020). It is difficult to find traces of bottom-up initiatives in the shaping of the city; the role of residents seems to be reduced to public consultation. Secondly, further research is needed to clarify to what extent all residents benefit from the proposed cultural offer and how much it is a tourist attraction. It appears that the activities undertaken are hardly reaching the non-artistic people whose educational capital does not contain preparation for interacting with contemporary art (Léger 2018). Arguably, the application of the above tools to redressing social inequalities is even worse.

However, sometimes the scale of social problems far exceeds the capacity of any city. A symbol of this helplessness may become a certain image from Nantes in 2023 (Figure 17). European Thousand-Arms Classical Sculpture is the work of Xu Zhen, which appeared in the city on the occasion of the next edition of the festival Le Voyage à Nantes. The artist made copies of nineteen statues iconic to Western culture—such as the Athena Parthenos and New York’s Statue of Liberty. He unified the scale and lined up the statues in a row, making the illusion of a single figure with multiple waving arms like that of an Indian deity from the front. The work challenges the traditional idea of cultural separation (Le Voyage à Nantes 2025). However, soon after installation, the sculpture was locked in a cage for safety. It was why the riots erupted across France after a 17-year-old boy was shot dead by police in a Paris suburb. The city overwrote its own iconography.

5. Conclusions

The picture that emerges from studies of the regeneration of brownfield sites in Nantes is optimistic. The use of a variety of culture-led regeneration strategies combined with a flexible organisational model, implemented by talented leaders, proved successful. The city’s recovery from the crisis was a quick success. The initial situation was reversed. Just as degraded areas used to have a negative impact on the city, over time, what happened in these areas in the revitalisation process began to radiate out to the entire metropolis. Nantes did not forget its inhabitants. They were the first addressees of artistic activities. Public spaces tailored to their needs were created for them. Making the city more pleasant to live in was the main objective of the revitalisation.

This does not mean that Nantes is not affected by the problems that customarily arise during regeneration. The city is struggling with the effects of gentrification. Rents are high, and property prices are rising, especially in the city centre but gradually on the Île de Nantes. The city is stratifying, with poverty affecting some neighbourhoods much more than others. Although in general the level of security in the city is increasing, “also in Nantes, cars are burning and shootings break out with fatalities and injuries” (Rapetti 2019). In the face of a growing urban population and dynamic industrial development, managing the city in a spirit of sustainability is a significant challenge. Only time will tell if the city solves these problems in an equally creative way.