This 10 meter high work in this town of Loire-Atlantique is intriguing

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Rue Maurice-Sambron in Pontchâteau (Loire-Atlantique), almost opposite the Boule-d'or room, you just have to look up to see it: a 10 m high tower located on a grass mound dominates this area of ​​the city. Despite the presence of numerous white statues, the owner did not want to reproduce a mini-Calvary here. The tower is the work of Guy Lefrere. This former artistic ironworker, retired, is a jack of all trades who likes to work with their hands. And where ideas flow.

A challenge following a storm

The history of this tower dates back to 2016. A storm then uprooted a cupressus.

I said to myself, Mother Nature is giving me a challenge. I wanted to give a second life to what remained of the trunk and roots still in place.

A crane puts the trunk back in place and vertically, which Guy will reshape by removing the bark.

To give it solidity, he implanted it on a pivot fixed to the underground rock and added a rotating metal structure to the whole.

“It’s very solid, I put cables and props. During the last storms, nothing changed,” slips Guy.Echo of the peninsula.

18 months of work

The works commit in 2017 and lasted 18 monthsduring which friends come to give him a hand.

At the top of this construction, a platform accommodates a cabin in which it is possible to spend the night, accessible by a spiral staircase.

A small freight elevator was installed at one time but it has been removed.

The town hall came to look on site because they wanted to ensure the solidity of the structure. So I filled out a file with a plan and ensuring the reliability of the work.

Obviously time has had its effect on the structure and the 78-year-old retiree has started a restoration to give it a little facelift.

Although he likes working with wood, Guy does not abandon his original profession, artistic metalwork.

The ark of hearts

Graduated in 1965 and awarded a first prize by the Loire-Atlantique Chamber of Tradesduring his master's degree, Pontchâtelain wanted to pay tribute to this passion by building an equally intriguing work on his property.

It is the Ark of Hearts. A glass structure, with a powder-coated sheet metal roof, supported by 16 bronze pillars. At its top, four intertwined bronze hearts with 4 screen-printed eyes representing the cardinal points. And birds are installed on the wings of the building.

This structure, visible from the street, houses a well. Guy had this type of construction in mind for a long time.

A tribute to ironwork

The metalwork/ironwork and carpentry contractor built it in 2007, almost 10 years after buying this almost ruined house and which he renovated from A to Z.

But the idea appeared to him following an illness.

It was also a challenge. I wanted to prove to myself my abilities and bring honor to my profession. It was a sort of achievement for me.

The Pontchâtelain who happily answers questions from passers-by who sometimes do not hesitate to take photos, intrigued by the unusual nature of this construction.

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