Hangar à bananes (part 1)

Open since 2007, Hangar à Bananes was meant to be one of the cultural high points of Nantes. However, despite a promising start, problems have begun to accumulate, which are putting the future of this cultural enterprise into question. Thibault Dumas reports in two parts.

 

Stood at the end of Île de Nantes, between two branches of the Loire, the building is flanked by famous Nantes landmarks such as the Titan Gris (the iconic grey crane) and the multi-coloured rings by  Daniel Buren and Patrick Bouchain.  Initially named after Maurice Bertin, former President of the Nantes Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Hangar à Bananes is 150 metres long and only one storey high. The architectural style is both a nod to art deco design and to a traditional river port. 

 

The widely-held view in Nantes is that this building is another a relic left from the history of slave trade in the city. On the contrary, it was built just after the Second World War, and  grew over the following decade thanks to the import trade of bananas and pineapples from New Guinea. Hangar à bananes became the main seller of these products in Western France. Then, from the early 1970s to its closing in 1991, it became a depot for the Beghin Say sugar factory. 

 

The modern version of the Hangar 21 was launched with great ceremony in summer 2007 as a place of cultural attraction right in the middle of the industrial and maritime wasteland that lay between the docks 'Antilles' and 'Wilson'. Open day and night,sunrise to sunset, 365 days a year, it was an ambitious project to say the least. Though apart from a couple of unexpected hitches , this  “village” was off to a booming start, according to Jean-Marie Nex, a real estate manager in charge of the site. More than 75,000 visitors came during the first three months which also saw the modern art biennial Estuaires 2007.

 

So impressive was its debut, that on the Antilles docks people already refer to this period as a “golden age”. This initial success is confirmed by Brice Lasne, 23, barman at the Australian café : “during the first year it was dazzling”. Four years later, a total of 16 businesses (bars, restaurants, concert halls, clubs and even an art gallery) gather in a space totalling 8000 m². The tenants are almost exclusively from the private sector, with the exception of SAMOA - the body in charge of the development of the modern art area on Ile de Nantes.

 

Enthusiasm is still in the air. At least for some, such as Chris, 36, manager of the strip bar Suite 21  “Look at the view, the docks. It's a great place with an extraordinary landscape. On the coast and at the same time, very close to downtown Nantes”. According to him, the warehouse has even become a must-see within the Nantes agglomeration: “When you talk about places to visit in Nantes people often refer to Hangar à bananes”. Its roots in the local festive and cultural landscape certainly need no further proof. “You must see the Elephant [the 12 meter-high wooden structure that became one of the  main attractions in the Pays de la Loire] and the Hangar à Bananes” was the stock phrase heard by most tourists and new inhabitants.

 

Nowadays, the main problem is that the crowded evenings and week-ends starkly contrast with the human desert of the daytime. In particular when the weather turns inclement (wind and rain are no strangers to Nantes) Nighttime customers are for the most part young - between 25 and 35 years old along with teenager groups under 18 - whereas daytime ones are tourists but in smaller numbers. The frequency of their visits is variable and the economy of this location is leaning more and more towards one sole activity : late-night fiesta. Possibly worrying for a place that was meant to be a hive of culture “day and night”.

 

Hangar à Bananes (part 2) Towards the 2.0