A year after the fire at Notre Dame , which destroyed Viollet-le-Duc's 19th-century roof, the reconstruction project for the Parisian cathedral remains uncertain. At the end of last year, according to The Art Newspaper, Francesco Bandarin, architect and exalted Unesco official, director of its World Heritage Center (2000-2010) and deputy director-general for culture (2010-18), the temple had entered in a delicate phase: the removal of the scaffolding that had been erected in the renovation work on the building's roof prior to the accident, which, due to the intense heat, ended up melting, remaining attached to the structure.
"The removal of the scaffold requires three levels of steel beams to be placed around its exterior to form a" stabilizing strap, "wrote the expert, currently an advisor to the International Center for the Study of the Conservation and Restoration of Heritage, in late December. Cultural (ICCROM) and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture . "Once this operation is completed, the same company that built the scaffold (Europe Echafaudage) will begin dismantling it, using telescopic crawler cranes that will allow rope technicians to descend into the forest of pipes and cut them gradually after having covered them with a protective layer to prevent the spread of contamination caused by the melting of the lead roof. The work is expected to be completed next April. "
The global coronavirus crisis has frustrated deadlines, which are already long. "Notre Dame is an 850-year-old lady," the rector of the cathedral, Patrick Chauvet , told the BBC . "She is an old and wounded lady. And for the elderly, the sick, those in quarantine, the isolated in residences, I think it is a symbol of union. There is no one around Notre Dame; we have left her alone, but not abandoned. "
However, despite the first and ingenious proposals for the reconstruction of the cathedral, architects and designers began to launch spontaneously a few days after the tragedy (which we collected in this gallery), and the many that have followed, sponsored Also through an international ideas competition, Notre Dame still does not have a reconstruction project.
On the anniversary of the devastating fire, we collected eight projects from around the world that participated in The People's Notre-Dame Design Competition (the popular design competition for Notre Dame), launched by Design Class, the community of designers created by Go Architect , in which more than 30,000 people voted, and the Chinese Zeyu Cai and Sibei Li won. These are some of the ones that most liked the citizens, ordered from least to most voted.
8. A democratic needle and not a symbol of power
Chinese architect Yung Sai Chun received a special mention from the popular jury that voted in the competition thanks to his project of a fog cover that represents the collective aspiration. "The roof is made of three components: a high-pressure nozzle system, a series of triangular burned wood frames, and a steel suspension bridge over a glass floor," explains the founding architect of Studio of SAI. The nozzles have a double function: on the one hand with a fire extinguishing system and, on the other, they connect with the citizens who can vote through an app how much fog the roof must have at any time.
7. A power plant as a symbol of energy renewal
Chilean architect Cristián Patricio León Moreno proposed transforming the Notre Dame roof into an electric power plant "based on two copper cylinders, water risers and eight Francis turbines that receive the flow that comes from the top"; all in turn powered by a vortex turbine located on the Seine. Energy is renewed continuously and renewable and reflects the triumph of light over darkness. The project of this architect, creator of the Dado cryptocurrency, deserved a special mention.
6. Water and light against fire and destruction
From the United Kingdom, the architects Cuong Phu Nguyen and Nga Thi Hang Nguyen, proposed The Light Cascade , a set of fountains, waterfalls and colored lights that was a finalist in the competition. "The waterfall that falls from the sky symbolizes life and healing", explain the authors, who wanted to create a harmonious combination between the old and the new, preserving the scale and proportions of the ceiling and previous spiers, but making it passable for the public. "It would take 1,300 large oak trees to restore the original roof and spire," something they allege runs counter to sustainability.
5. The void and nature
The Japanese Kotaro Horiuchi, Kumiko Yamamoto, Clarissa Maharani Hartanto, Itoko Yamazaki, Supreetha Sudheer, Maho Nagasak, Yuki Kanazawa and Atsuko Watanabe jointly presented one of the most minimalist projects that have been proposed for the Parisian cathedral. Starting from the Japanese concept mujo , which consists in accepting that things are not eternal, they propose to preserve the emptiness left by the fire, as a memory of the past, present and future.
So they advocate rebuilding the basic parts, rebuilding the structural framework (only in metal, which is more resistant to fire than wood) and, from there, nature does the rest. That conquers the space and turns the terrace - accessible to the public - into a floating forest.
4. A Noah's Ark to walk on the waters
Americans Jimmy Li and Susan Lin were also finalists in the international contest voted by the citizens with this roof-pool in the shape of Noah's Ark, crossed by a walkway accessible from all the bell towers and topped with a marble altar. With this design, they want to reflect the miracle - that Notre Dame did not burn whole and, paraphrasing the scriptures, that of walking on water - and salvation, represented by Noah's Ark that, according to the Bible, rescued a couple of each species to guarantee the future. In turn, from the street, the bow of the ark will seem to cross the Seine.
3. Contemporary Gothic
The Canadian studio NAK Design Strategies, directed by the architect Ron Barid, proposes a faithful reconstruction of the roof. As for the spire, he assures that "the international community has accepted that the design of Viollet-le-Duc from the 19th century will be replaced", so it formulates a new one that respects the Gothic architecture of the temple, which "has structural characteristics innovative dating back to the 12th century. " Therefore, "the intention is to create a magnificent and timeless building, not dated by current trends in architecture and design."
This architect's stylus is polished steel, it rises "bright, reverential and elegant against the Parisian sky, and contains a secret, a great mystery: bright, colorful, programmable lights that can dance, and others with a strobe effect that it can be activated at night on special occasions. "
2. And in the meantime? A hologram
The American Rogerio Carvalheiro proposes a solution for the cathedral while the project that is finally chosen is being developed. "Understanding that the planning and reconstruction of Notre Dame will take more than 5 years, my fiberglass inflated roof proposal provides a temporary solution that protects the building while final project decisions are made," says the architect.
But his proposal also incorporates an innovative design: "The controversial Viollet-le-Duc stylus, added during the restoration of the buildings in the mid 1800s, will be visible only at night through a holographic projection that will provide a resolution of ' compromise 'for those on both sides of the discussion, "he resolves.
Finally, he does not forget one of the miracles of the fire: the survival of the honey bee colonies, which he proposes to "incorporate into the base of the inflated ceiling", so that it becomes a safe haven for them. Of course, Carvalheiro does not rule out that his project, finalist in the contest, could in fact become a permanent solution, "given that there are examples of this type of structure that have been successfully built and maintained throughout the world for several decades "
1. The winner: a time capsule for Paris
The duo formed by Zeyu Cai and Sibei Li was the winner of the contest with a conceptual proposal that does not disregard the show. A mirror cover is topped with a polyethylene mirror needle that, seen from inside, works as a kaleidoscope of the city, which will be reflected inside along with the visitors themselves. Above it, floating, by means of a magnetic levitation system, a time capsule designed to open every half century, and which rhythmically moves up and down, breathing and beating with the city. Hence the name of the project, Latidos de París .
