French experts are combing the country’s forests for centuries-old oaks to rebuild the Notre Dame spire that was destroyed by fire. [...]

Last July, Macron announced the spire would be reconstructed exactly as it was. This is expected to require up to 1,000 oaks aged between 150 and 200 years old. — The Guardian

Canada is offering homegrown softwood lumber and steel to help with the reconstruction of Paris’s famed Notre Dame Cathedral, which was partially destroyed by fire in mid-April.

In a letter sent to French President Emmanuel Macron this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada was proud to support France in the reconstruction of the iconic monument. — Global News

President Emmanuel Macron of France on Thursday dropped the unpopular idea of building a modern spire atop a restored Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, a possibility he had floated after a devastating fire sent the previous spire crashing through the roof. [...]

But the idea of a modern spire never caught on with critics or with public opinion, and Mr. Macron never committed to it. — The New York Times

Little over a year ago the world nearly lost one of its most recognizable examples of Gothic architecture, as the spire and a sizeable part of the roof of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris burned to ashes. Now the debate carries on about what to do with the damaged building. [...] What does it mean to be "Gothic" anyway? If something is Gothic can it also be contemporary? For such questions we need a little background. — CNN

The Belgian artist Wim Delvoye says that officials at Notre Dame cathedral, which was destroyed in a fire in April last year, have so far snubbed his proposal to rebuild the spire of the gutted medieval landmark. “The longer the French wait to decide—or to start a competition—the more they will need to rely on my technique and design [involving] laser-cut Corten steel,” he says. “They are going to discuss [the spire design] for ten years.” — The Art Newspaper

Notre Dame's construction site is to reopen Monday (27 April) to allow a management team to start planning the return of employees in early May...The move begins ahead of France's gradual easing of lockdown, amid the coronavirus pandemic, from 11 May.

Barriers surrounding the cathedral will be removed to allow around ten people, including the lead architect Philippe Villeneuve and company representatives involved in the restoration, to enter its base camp. — The Art Newspaper

It has been a year to the day since a fire devastated the Notre Dame cathedral, causing its spire to collapse and leaving the 850-year-old church's future in doubt. [...]

But with the coronavirus shutdown bringing restoration efforts to a standstill -- and the country's attention now focused elsewhere -- the somber anniversary is set to pass with little fanfare. — CNN

The restoration of the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, which was badly damaged by fire on 15 April, has entered a new and delicate phase. This involves removing a vast and heavy scaffolding structure at roof level that became fused by the intense heat. It had been erected before the fire in order to carry out restoration work on the 19th-century roof spire, whose dramatic collapse was seen on screens around the world. — The Art Newspaper

A public dispute has arisen between the French officials in charge of the reconstruction of the fire-damaged Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.

General Jean-Louis Georgelin, who is President Emmanuel Macron's special representative on the project, stunned MPs by insulting the chief architect in charge of the cathedral, telling him “to shut his big mouth” in front of the National Assembly’s cultural commission. — The Art Newspaper

The law has created a new agency with vast and wide-ranging powers to be in charge of coordinating and managing the entire operation. It will also receive all the funds raised by national and international subscriptions; manage all work to the immediate surroundings of the cathedral; establish training programmes for the restorers; [and] implement information programmes to educate the public about the conservation process. — The Art Newspaper

Some of what went wrong that night has been reported in the French news media, including Le Monde and Le Canard Enchaîné. Now, The New York Times conducted scores of interviews and reviewed hundreds of documents to reconstruct the missteps—and the battle that saved Notre-Dame in the first four critical hours after the blaze began.

What became clear is just how close the cathedral came to collapsing. — The New York Times

Notre Dame is not stable and urgently needs reinforcing. [...]

The collapse of a part of the vaults has severely reduced the safety of its structural system, which, in the case of a Gothic cathedral, does not rely on the heavy mass of the walls, as in classical architecture, but on discharging weight through clustered columns, external flying buttresses and counter-supports—a structural “exoskeleton” that until now has been extremely effective and resilient. — The Art Newspaper