Notre-Dame de Paris: discover how the forecourt and gardens of the cathedral will be redesigned

His project was almost unanimous.

He is in any case largely detached from the others.

Bas Smets, “landscape architect” as he likes to present himself, won the call for projects launched by the City of Paris for the surroundings of Notre-Dame.

The participants - they were 4 finalists - had to imagine what the square, the gardens and the neighboring streets of the monument will look like, damaged by a fire in 2019. The construction site must succeed that of the restoration of the building, for its part supposed to be complete, for the most part anyway, by the end of 2024.

The announcement was made this Monday morning by Anne Hidalgo, the mayor (PS) of Paris.

“The main ambition of the redevelopment is to bring Parisians back to the cradle of Paris and welcome visitors in better conditions.

This involves completely rethinking the reception of the cathedral, its access from the forecourt, the management of flows, the continuity with the Seine, the vegetation of the site, the routes through the island and the perspectives", announced the call to projects.

So how did that of Bas Smets (co-constructed with the architect-urban planner agency Grau and the architecture agency Neufville-Gayet) stand out in the eyes of the jury, who met on Thursday June 23 to decide?

"He is the one who brought the most sober, the most delicate proposal, while meeting the expectations", explains Ariel Weil.

A vegetated promontory which will offer a view of the Seine

And the mayor (PS) of the Paris center borough to emphasize that there will be no emergence in front of Notre-Dame.

“Bas Smets offered the clearest forecourt.

A rectangle whose layout continues the interior geometric design on the outside, with a dominant of Fontainebleau sandstone.

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To eradicate the heat island generated by the place, the architect imagined “a trickle of water which will come, several times a day, to irrigate the forecourt, thanks to a system of slope.

Water recovered in particular from the roofs of Notre-Dame, with filtration because of the lead”, appreciates Ariel Weil.

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The project also provides for a treeline stretching from the forecourt to the Jean-XXIII squares – where lawns will be created – and from the Île-de-France by a promenade along the Seine.

“Bas Smets imagined an ecological continuity between these two green spaces.

He also worked on the differences in height and proposes a promontory which will offer a view of the Seine, ”adds the mayor of central Paris.

A budget of 50 million euros for the project

Tourists will be welcomed as planned in the existing car park, which has simply been redesigned.

It must be said that if the envelope of 50 million euros allocated to this project is substantial, it does not allow all the follies either.

Large reception halls are therefore planned, as well as smaller spaces.

It will be accessed by a staircase and an elevator, which will have to be created.

"There, to make the link with the Seine, Bas Smets decided to make sufficiently wide openings while respecting the heritage since it keeps track of the quay bottom walls", specifies Ariel Weil.

The Belgian architect has not forgotten the residents and will tackle the neighboring streets, especially that of the Cloître-Notre-Dame.

A pedestrian platform is planned there, like what was created on rue de la Verrerie.

“We plan to launch this part of the project ahead of the rest,” says Ariel Weil.

This would be a positive message sent to the inhabitants and traders of the island.

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