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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
Rebuilding the fire-damaged Gothic cathedral hasn't been easy: construction crews were impacted by COVID-19 safety measures, and since French President Macron decided to ditch the modern spire and restore it to its "last known visual state" based on Eugène Viollet-le-Duc's 19th-century... View full entry
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
French President Macron's decision to let go of his long-championed vision of a contemporary spire for the fire-damaged Gothic cathedral comes one year after the French senate passed a bill approving the government's restoration plan under the condition that Notre Dame be restored to its "last... View full entry
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
According to The Art Newspaper, the team will begin organizing the return of about 50 construction workers beginning May 4th with the goal of having all cranes removed by that day. Workers will return to dismantling the structure's expansive scaffolding also, a job that was stopped in March... View full entry
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
Click here to catch up with Archinect's complete coverage that followed the devastating news of the Notre Dame blaze on April 15, 2019. #notredame #paris #incendie #désastre pic.twitter.com/jpNosqFGGp— Kinsley Laurence (@KinsleyLaurence) April 15, 2019 The moment the cathedral's spire... View full entry
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
For The Art Newspaper, architect Francesco Bandarin gives a detailed account of the crucial next step in the efforts to restore the fire-damaged cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. "The removal of the scaffolding requires three levels of steel beams to be positioned around its exterior to form... View full entry
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
Plans to restore the damaged spire of the historic Notre Dame Cathedral are well underway months after a tragic fired ravaged the Cathedral. However, conflict is brewing between General Jean-Louis Georgelin and Philippe Villeneuve, the chief architect put in charge of the Cathedral. The... View full entry
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
More details regarding the laws and governing structure that will oversee the reconstruction of the Norte Dame Cathedral in Paris have come to light. According to The Art Newspaper, French president Emmanuel Macron will be the sole official in charge of the rebuilding. Macron, according to... View full entry
Global architecture firm Gensler has unveiled designs for a charred timber prayer pavilion to be used while the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is underway. The unsolicited proposal deploys Shou Sugi Ban-style charred timber structural trusses to shape a nave "replicated to the... View full entry
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
A stunning visual report from The New York Times lays out a chain of events chronicling the heart-wrenching battle to save Notre-Dame cathedral as it burned uncontrollably on April 15, 2019. The article points to several key lapses in the design of the cathedral's fire safety systems... View full entry
La Croix International reports that Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has proposed a temporary chapel to be used for gatherings and religious services in the forecourt of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris while the iconic structure is restored. The cathedral burned in April 2019, and its future has... View full entry
On Monday evening, the French Senate approved the government's Notre-Dame restoration bill - but added a clause that it must be restored to the state it was before the blaze — The Local
The French senate has stepped into the fray over how to rebuild Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris by passing a bill approving the government’s planned restoration effort with the added requirement that the cathedral be rebuilt to its "last known visual state.” Notre-Dame competition an... View full entry
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
A new assessment of the Gothic cathedral's structural system after the devastating April 15 fire shows that the stability has been severely weakened by various factors and warns that the walls could now fail to withstand strong wind gusts. The morning after the incident: Notre Dame's spire is gone... View full entry
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... View full entry
Heritage experts warn that restoring Notre Dame de Paris after the devastating fire of 15 April will be so complex that it could take a decade or more, despite President Emmanuel Macron’s vow to “rebuild the cathedral more beautiful than ever” within five years. — The Art Newspaper
While President Emmanuel Macron has an obvious political interest in reopening the severely damaged Notre Dame Cathedral for the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, experts call for patience and reject improbable deadlines. Notre Dame's north rose window dates back to around 1250. Image: Wikipedia.A... View full entry
With the Notre Dame design competition well underway participants and submission ideas are flowing in. Although many submission ideas poke fun at the possibilities of what the new design could be, some firms are looking at the competition as an opportunity. Norman Foster of Foster +... View full entry
