Le Grand Éléphant by François Delarozière and Pierre Orefice, Nantes
Le Grand Éléphant
François Delarozière & Pierre Orefice · built by La Machine · Nantes, France
Photo: Street Art Utopia archive. Photographer and capture date unconfirmed.
A wooden elephant carries a crowd through Nantes’ former shipyards. Its designers wanted a moving building that people could follow, climb inside and share. It began carrying passengers in 2007; keeping it alive has meant new propulsion, winter maintenance and repairs to its moving joints.
Introduction: blooloop, La Machine, Les Machines de l’île and TF1 Info. Checked The dated status records a maintenance report; current visitor information is below.
6 things to know
- Two people conceived it; a workshop built itThe project grew from Delarozière and Orefice’s shared idea. The official logbook description credits the first sketches to Delarozière; the operator identifies La Machine as the builder. Technical Logbook No. 2 · The artistic project Checked
- It was meant to bring people back to the docksTIME’s 2007 report describes a city commission intended to reconnect Nantes residents with the former shipbuilding island. The animal was part of an urban redevelopment project, with public space and performance sharing the same ground. TIME · La Machine Checked
- The machinery is deliberately on showThe designers chose visible mechanisms and exposed materials so visitors could follow the making process. The workshop, sketches and working creatures belong to the same public experience. The artistic project Checked
- Its original engine did not last unchangedAfter a winter overhaul, the elephant returned in February 2018 with hybrid propulsion. The operator now specifies electric traction and batteries, alongside hydraulic, pneumatic and gas-powered cylinders for movement. Les Machines de l’île Checked
- Carrying people was a major design challengeLa Machine’s Frédette Lampre told blooloop that accommodating passengers and securing approval from the inspection body were among the biggest difficulties. Orefice described the result as mobile architecture people could follow in procession. blooloop Checked
- The neck needs work, tooTF1’s report published on 28 January 2026 describes that winter’s maintenance as focusing on the elephant’s neck joints. The report records repair work on the existing machine. TF1 Info Reported
Check-in guide
- 📍
- Les Machines de l’île, on the former shipyard site on the Île de Nantes, France. La Machine Checked
- 🎟️
- The operator’s autumn timetable, checked on 13 October 2026, lists elephant rides through 1 November. It is a service schedule, not a dated sighting. Weather can cancel departures. Official opening hours Reported
- 🔧
- Planned closure: no elephant rides from 2 November 2026 through 28 February 2027 for maintenance. Both language versions give the same dates. Official opening hours · Horaires officiels Reported
Sightings
- 200716 Jul
Opening-season report
- 2018February
Hybrid motor introduced
- 202628 Jan
Neck maintenance reported
The 2007 and 2026 stamps are report publication dates, not camera timestamps. The 2018 stamp records the operator’s stated upgrade month. “Seen Jan 2026” refers to TF1’s maintenance report; it does not say rides were running then. Our archive photograph is undated, and a current timetable does not supply a newer physical sighting.
On the record
The public joins the performance
“the public become actors in an urban spectacle.”
François Delarozière, quoted by Jeffrey T. Iverson.
An animal conceived as a building
“we wanted a piece of mobile architecture”
Pierre Orefice, explaining the elephant’s scale and public role.
The facts
- Title
- Le Grand Éléphant. Les Machines de l’île Checked
- Creators
- Conceived by François Delarozière and Pierre Orefice; built by La Machine. La Machine · The artistic project Checked
- Opened
- 2007. La Machine’s project record and TIME’s contemporary account agree. La Machine · TIME Checked
- Date wording
- A later blooloop account calls 2006 the project’s first year. La Machine explicitly dates the elephant’s inauguration to 2007, supported by TIME’s report that July. We use 2007 for this work. Conflicting
- Materials
- Steel, tulip poplar and basswood. Les Machines de l’île Checked
- Dimensions
- 12 m high × 8 m wide × 21 m long; operator’s specification. Les Machines de l’île Checked
- Capacity
- Up to 50 passengers. Les Machines de l’île · blooloop Checked
- Mechanism
- 62 cylinders: 46 hydraulic, six pneumatic and ten gas-powered; operator’s specification. Les Machines de l’île Checked
- Status
- Seen in a maintenance report published 28 January 2026. Exact filming date is not supplied. TF1 Info Reported
- Our photo
- Already published in SAU’s collection. Its attachment and image metadata do not identify a photographer or capture date. Unconfirmed
Related
- 25 Extraordinary Sculptures: the source collection on Street Art Utopia.
- La Machine’s Nantes project record and photographs.
- Serpent d’océan: another monumental animal at the Loire estuary.
All sources (9)
Creators, operator and original reporting
- La Machine: Builder’s project record: authorship, location and opening year.
- The artistic project: Operator’s account of the materials, visible mechanisms and workshop.
- Technical Logbook No. 2: Official book description distinguishing shared conception from drawings.
- Les Machines de l’île: Operator’s technical specification and February 2018 upgrade record.
- Official opening hours: Current visitor timetable, checked 13 October 2026.
- Horaires officiels: French timetable, independently checked against the English version.
- TIME: Contemporary reporting and creator quotation, 16 July 2007.
- blooloop: Original creator and company interviews, 15 May 2018.
- TF1 Info: Maintenance report published 28 January 2026; written summary consulted.
Artwork File · Last checked 13 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files