Rebuilding Notre-Dame cathedral (Paris)

Factual Questions
101

Not right, though, since it does have to last hundreds of years into the future, so not a bodge.

102

As the recent National Geographic article on the subject explains, the decision has been taken to restore it to how it was before the fire, the ‘last known state’. It presents this as a victory for the architecte en chef des monuments historiques, Philippe Villeneuve. Villeneuve is also determined that lead be used for the roof.

It was a triumph of orthodoxy: Rebuilding to the last known state is what French restorers generally do. The Venice Charter, created in 1964 at an international conference of specialists, codifies that approach, in which the goal of historical restoration is not the most beautiful building but the most “authentic” one—the one that preserves all its layers of history.

Actually, that oversimplifies the issue, as debates about restoration have moved on since 1964, mostly in ways tending to reinforce the approach the French are now taking.

103

I already answered that. You Only Live Once, ergo let’s improvise and hope it doesn’t break or blow up. Not speaking to Notre Dame at all.

104

Which, as far as I can tell, also means not installing fire sprinklers. I find that unfathomable and I hope I’m wrong, but if they’re going to the trouble of reinstalling lead roofing, then there’s no limit to the insanity.

105

Does it? Do you have any sources that say that?

‘Last known state’ refers to the structure, windows, interior fittings, artwork, etc. Fire prevention is in a completely different category.

The roof needs a certain distribution of weight to keep the structure stable. That’s why it’s safest and best to use wooden beams and a lead roof again.

106

I haven’t found anything that says they ARE going to install sprinklers. The problem is that basically all the search hits are about how they didn’t have them before. So like I said, I hope I’m wrong about that.

As for weight distribution, that can be engineered to match with other materials. Chartres Cathedral has an iron roof structure that was built after an 1836 fire for instance. To build a new roof with lead that isn’t also fire suppressed is criminally negligent in my opinion.

107

Last known “visual” state, at any rate.

One hopes that would include improved fire detection and suppression to modern standards that the restoration team could incorporate and/or hide as to be invisible to the general public. And that sort of thing is absolutely required in the US when restoring/rebuilding historic structures. But it’s not necessarily required in France. I would hope they incorporate such here.

There’s always that tension (as in this thread) between ‘faithful’ restoration, which in this case would be to how it was restored in the 19th century or thereabouts, and allowing some modern elements in while keeping the overall authenticity intact.

108

Well, if you ever find any evidence that they’re going to do that, please let us know.

109

Do you have any evidence that they are installing sprinklers? As I mentioned, I’ve seen nothing that says they are, and you’d think that’d be one of the very first bullet points regarding the restoration.

110

After all this time, it just struck me: are there other cathedrals named Notre-Dame, necessitating that the thread title specify that it is the Paris one?

111

There’s a whole slew of them listed here:

112

Just a few… :slightly_smiling_face:

From Wikipedia:

There are some in other countries besides France as well.

ETA: Ninja’d

113

The Virgin Mary is a person of some small repute in the Catholic faith.

114

She’s supposedly a … I was going to say “mere mortal”, but considering the Assumption, that’s not quite the case. Anyway, based on how often she’s invoked and prayed to, she either must be divine or the most overworked non-divine in the entire meta-verse.

115

Actually, it is Catholic canon that Mary is, in fact, the greatest non-divine in the entire meta-verse. As for over-worked, well, she’s The Mom, and how many moms have you known who weren’t overworked?

116

As a former Catholic, I’m aware of what the canon about Mary is. But I also say it doesn’t pass the duck test.

117

You’re older than you look ! :slightly_smiling_face:

118

And don’t him started on what the bloody Romans did to the town…!

119

Repair efforts lead to a rood surprise:

120

I am reminded of the project to rebuild the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, a much smaller project that will nonetheless take ten years and cost billions. To start with, they built new meeting halls for the Senate and House of Commons in adjacent buildings, so that the original chambers could be rebuilt with the rest of the Centre Block.

Progress:

Way more involved than I even expected. The Notre Dame project has got to be even more complicated.

I mention this because the House of Commons chamber, in particular, is a very graceful combination of modern design with the neo-gothic revivalism of the original West Block around it. And someone mentioned the glass pyramid in front of the Louvre.

There are ways of harmoniously blending modern and historic architecture, even apart from things like “putting a new steel frame under the new roof”. I wonder how much of a reproduction the replacement structure will be? Will only the public areas look ‘traditional’ and they’ll get, say, offices with modern heating and wiring as well?