MANTION’s Commitments
Patronage:
supporting the Common Good
MANTION provides local support through various skills-based sponsorship initiatives.
All these actions strengthen our role as a responsible and community-minded company.
MANTION Presents Its Recent Patronage Projects.
MANTION Supports:
The Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans
The “Cercle immense” • Gate
MANTION Gate at the “Cercle Immense” for the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans
Following the labyrinthine sliding artwork, it is now the gate’s turn to enter the grand circle.
Contacted by the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans (Doubs – 25), MANTION was selected to install a gate composed of two panels, featuring at its center the “Cercle Immense”, where a quote by Claude Nicolas LEDOUX is inscribed and made visible through a cut-out in the gate:
“An immense circle opens, unfolds before my eyes; it is a new horizon shining in all colors.”
A quote that captures the very essence of the project.
In close collaboration with students from Lycée Hippolyte FONTAINE in Dijon and the Royal Saltworks, MANTION teams shared their expertise to bring this ground-rail-based project to life.
The steel frame is now welded, with four curved sections in place. The dressed panel weighs 920 kg and measures 6.15 m in length. The gate forms a sliding archway 10.4 m wide and 2.8 m high, with a visible face painted in RAL 8019 grey brown. The bare steel frame weighs 400 kg.
This gate slides with precision in the grand courtyard of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans.
You can visit and view the gate now at The Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans.
“Dédale” by Gilles PICOUET • A Labyrinth of Sliding Doors
“Dédale” – When Art Meets Movement
In 2020, MANTION partnered with artist Gilles Picouet to bring “Dédale” to life — a playful and immersive artwork that reimagines the myth of the labyrinth.
Produced by Le Pavé Dans La Mare and owned by the City of Besançon, this installation invites the public to explore a constantly transforming space through movable sliding walls.
As a specialist in sliding systems, MANTION contributed its technical expertise to the project and continues to maintain the installation.
Dédale was inaugurated at the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans on February 15, 2020, marking a beautiful convergence of art, industry, and territory.
Technical Details:
- Type: Interactive and evolving installation.
- Structure: Composed of 90 sliding panels (35 kg each) that visitors can move to create their own path.
- Dimensions: Designed for large outdoor public spaces.
- Mechanism: Mounted on tracks, allowing continuous modularity (200 linear meters of metal tracks and 17 tons of steel)
Visitors become active participants by reshaping the layout of the space.
You can explore “Dédale” now at the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans.
MANTION Supports:
The Citadel of Besançon
Vauban Garden • Benches
A major landmark in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region and the city of Besançon, the Citadel of Besançon (Doubs – 25) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Its director, Alexandre Arnodo, launched a dynamic initiative involving local businesses to make the Citadel a showcase for regional expertise.
In 2022, MANTION was invited to contribute to the Vauban Garden project by creating five benches as part of an industrial sponsorship initiative.
The goal was to create a welcoming and relaxing space where visitors could enjoy aromatic and medicinal plants.
Various MANTION teams were involved: design office, sheet metal workshop, turning workshop… applying skills such as welding, bending, and assembly instructions.
Each team contributed its expertise to the project.
The benches are made of steel, with each leg weighing 100 kg. The total weight ranges from 340 kg to 1060 kg, and the longest bench measures over 10 meters.
The wooden seating was crafted by PRETOT.
The bench legs are shaped to represent the “V” of Vauban, paying tribute to the site’s history and identity.
The garden was inaugurated on July 12, 2023.
We designed and built five steel benches, adding a touch of strength and elegance to the space. Each bench weighs between 340 kg and 1,060 kg, with the longest measuring 10 meters. The clever detail that makes these benches even more special: the bench legs are shaped like the majestic “V” of Vauban — a tribute to the history and spirit of the site.
You can view these benches now at the Citadel of Besançon.
« Module ref 9030 » by Nicolas FLOC’H • A Living and Mobile Artwork
As part of its commitment to contemporary creation, MANTION supported the Module ref. 9030 project by artist Nicolas Floc’h in 2010.
Presented at the Citadel of Besançon from September 25 to November 13, in partnership with the art center Le Pavé Dans La Mare, this monumental installation was designed as an immersive and evolving structure.
Combining wood, metal, and plants, the piece measures 7 x 7 x 4 meters and weighs around 2 tons.
It features a mechanical system allowing 58 clay pots filled with plants to move along custom-designed suspended tracks.
Visitors are invited to experience a space in motion, where nature becomes an active part of a poetic and modular journey.
Thanks to its expertise in sliding and guiding systems, MANTION contributed to the technical realization of the work, offering its industrial know-how to support artistic creation.
This patronage reflects the Group’s desire to support projects that connect innovation, art, and territory.
The installation is based on a custom-designed suspended track system, ensuring smooth and stable movement of the plant elements.
Weight, resistance, and precision constraints required advanced engineering, mobilizing MANTION’s mechanical and structural expertise.
This project demonstrated the Group’s ability to adapt its industrial solutions to complex and evolving artistic environments.
You can discover Module ref 9030 now at the Citadel of Besançon.
