After a devastating fire broke out at Notre Dame Cathedral earlier this month, designers have been proposing ideas for its restoration. Foster + Partners released a controversial rendering for a glass roof addition, Studio Fuksas proposed a spire made of crystal, and the São Paulo-based architecture practice AJ6 Studio imagines one made entirely from stained glass.
Meanwhile, one company, Concr3de, is staying away from the transparent material, instead looking to the ashes and debris caused by the fire for inspiration. The dutch company—which was founded by Eric Geboers and Matteo Baldassari and specializes in 3D printing for the architecture industry—has proposed a plan that would use the rubble to 3D print parts of the gothic cathedral that have been lost.
Taking the ash, the dust and damaged stone and turning it into a 3D printable powder, the two designers want to rebuild the cathedral using the original design that has been saved in incredible detail thanks to the digital scans of architectural historian Andrew Tallon. "What if we reuse what is left?" the two ask in their proposal. "What if we take the stone that has seen so much history and not simply discard it but reuse it, and with that maintain the soul of the building?"
To demonstrate how this could work, the team reprinted Le Stryge, one of the famous gargoyles originally created by Viollet Le Duc in the 19th century, using a combination of the materials that would be available on site. The successful results show how the mixed material make the "fire a physical part of the reconstruction" and "add upon the layered history of the cathedral."
Additional benefits of Geboers and Baldassari's proposal are that it is quick and simple. Reconstruction could start immediately, there is no need to train a large crew, it is cost effective, and does away with the need to discard and waste materials that have so much history embedded inside them. If their plan is to be taken up by President Macron, the two estimate Notre Dame would be able to reopen within several months.
(h/t Fast Company)
12 Comments
this is exciting!
OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS IDEA!!!! It’s perfect. Perfect.
fascinating.
The first idea that actually make sense.
"reopen in a matter of months"
The roof structure was timber, not stone, and nobody is 3D printing structural members out of ash.
Aside from that it's not like there is a shortage of stone available, although the same can probably not be said about skilled masons. Tradition is largely built on craft; the elimination of craftmanship via replacement with technology leaves humanity culturally adrift and without purpose.
can't we just cannibalise lesser cathedrals are re-purpose those materials for ND?
Like Chartres?
sure, beggars can't be choosers.
Glad to have thought same.
Tradition can be carried on with modern technologies if the art of architecture is maintained, meaning one can design the way the original builders did without mimicking the methods. While I'd prefer a hand hewn renovation, I don't see anything wrong with 3-d printing if it's more practical, especially if you won't see up close. There's plenty of lovely 19th and 20th century masonry work done by mechanical and electric drills that's still delightful. Where does it say a tradition needs to die because of advanced technologies?
Quite the contrary...traditional forms are more accessible now than ever before with help of new technologies. I love the idea of 3-D printing it...
Have today's sculptors create new gargoyles and chimera with a nod to the originals but not an exact copy. Put the originals that survived the fire (most of them?) in a museum. Using technology as a substitute for artisanship is a path best not taken.
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