[I apologize for the late posting. And I’ll add a “Note to Self”: Never EVER again take on a project that has NO ending.]
On April 15th the world collectively gasped as we viewed the devastating Notre Dame Cathedral inferno that lasted for 15 hours and destroyed its iconic spire and most of its wooden roof. Two days later France’s Prime Minister Édouard Philippe announced a competition to design a new roof and spire for the iconic structure.
“This is obviously a huge challenge, a historic responsibility. The international competition will allow us to ask the question of whether we should even re-create the spire as it was conceived by Viollet-le-Duc. Or if, as is often the case in the evolution of heritage, we should endow Notre Dame with a new spire.”
There has been no dearth of entries – and they’re still coming in, which has made this project bigger than I had anticipated. Nevertheless, I thought it’d be fun to view some of the designs submitted so far. In my opinion, they range from the ethereal to the ridiculous.
But where to begin? I decided I’d start with what I consider the outliers – ones that are … hmmm … unique. But ones that I strongly doubt will ever (thankfully) come to fruition.
[A]
JETSON THEME
A Cyprus-based firm called Kiss the Architect created a what I would call a Jetson-Themed rendering of a futuristic spire with metal arches, circles and spheres wrapped around a central staircase.
[B]
GOLDEN FLAME
While not the most outlandish proposal (we’ll get there), but apparently the most controversial one is from French designer Mathieu Lehanneur, who wants to recreate the spire as it was the day it burned. Lehanneur has a reputation for transforming solid materials into a seemingly “liquid” state – so he envisions the Cathedral Spire as a massive golden flame.
[C]
QUASIMODO’S PENTHOUSE
A studio called Who Cares Design feels that Victor Hugo’s protagonist in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” deserves an upgrade from his belfry attic – so they proposed building a rooftop villa for Quasimodo. The penthouse, which would stretch across the cathedral’s crossing, is designed to replace Quasimodo’s previous home in Notre-Dame’s attic.
This is not your ordinary urban loft, as Who Cares describes it:
“A modern and light-flooded penthouse with two gigantic patios including a helipad and a spa with an indoor / outdoor pool. The new loft has a living area of 8.000 sq. ft. with two patios of 540 sq. ft. each. One rooftop garden is located on the east and the other on the west of the building.”
In the outlier competition we now move from the sublime to the ridiculous.
[D]
POOL – AND WE’RE NOT TALKING A RIVER CITY TROUBLED BY A BALKLINE GAME OF BILLIARDS
The Swedish firm of Ulf Mejergren Architects proposes a swimming pool on the rooftop, rather than rebuilding the spire. “Instead we are proposing a meditative public space; a complementary spatial experience to the building with unmatched views over Paris.”
[E]
PARKING LOT
The firm of Yung Yonge envisioned the roof of Notre-Dame being turned into a single-level car park as a dig at North America’s car culture. He tweeted the image with the caption: “If North Americans are put in charge of the Notre-Dame reconstruction”.
But the Irish architect Rob Cross (apparently inspired by Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi lyrics “They paved paradise And put up a parking lot”) ran with the idea, turning it into a multi-level parking garage.
[F]
ROCKET LAUNCHING PAD
After seeing even more outliers like turning into a Louis Vuitton center, Circus Tent and McDonalds, Chilean-born designer Sebastian Errazuriz cried “ENOUGH!” – and suggested turning Notre-Dame Cathedral into a space-rocket launchpad in an “act of creative one-upmanship” designed to stop architects producing more proposals.
“This is not a serious a proposal for the reconstruction of Notre-Dame. This is an act of creative one-upmanship designed to ridicule every remaining, rapacious architectural firm still circling the carcass of Notre-Dame with an ‘idea’ for a new roof proposal.”
SERIOUS PROPOSALS
But there were also serious proposals, so let’s take a look at a few. And you’ll notice that glass is a popular design element in many of them.
[1]
CRYSTAL
The Italian firm of Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas proposed a contemporary design for the roof and spire made from Baccarat crystal, which would be lit up at night.
[2]
GLASS & STONE with TRADITIONAL SPIRE
Russian architect Alexander Nerovnya also proposes a fully glass roof, but with a traditional spire structure.
[3]
APIARY
Since 2013 Notre Dame has housed three beehives on a roof over the sacristy 100 feet below the main roof, just beneath the celebrated stained-glass Rose window. Each one of the hives has about 60,000 bees – and all 180,000 honeybees made it through the fire unscathed!
The Paris-based firm of Studio NAB wants to celebrate that miracle, so they envision a glass greenhouse roof that would actually house an apiary in the spire for the honeybees. And according to Lonely Planet, their design also includes planters made from burnt oak salvaged from the attic.
[4]
SPIRE OF LIGHT
The Slovakian studio of Vizum Atelier has focused on reimagining the iconic spire of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc as a beam of light. To accomplish this, they propose a tower with a powerful beam to shine a light up into the heavens. Their theory is that in the Gothic era, builders tried to reach the sky, like the Eugène Viollet-le-Duc spire. “Now, it’s possible to make it happen.”
[NOTE: WRT Instagram photo series – when you come to the frame w/ only ONE arrow (either forward or backward), if you click it – it will open in a separate Instagram window.]
[5]
ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY
The Amsterdam-based design firm studio drift is taking an ecological approach by designing a roof of plastic made from material salvaged from our seas. The collected plastic would be melted down and reformed in tiles to clad the roof. The tiles would be colored blue to relate to the sky above. Drift estimates that using recycled plastic instead of wood the renovation would save thousands of trees.
I’ll close (YEAH!) with the three that are the most fully fleshed out. It’s not that I favor them, but it’s clear that these firms were very serious in proffering their proposals.
[6]
STAINED GLASS
São Paulo-based architect Alexandre Fantozzi firm Aj6 extends Notre Dame’s magnificent stain-glass windows to the roof and spire itself. “In Gothic, there is the connection of the earth to the sky, and inside the Cathedral, the natural illumination multiplies in colors through the filter of the cover in stained glass,” he wrote on Instagram.
[7]
OLD & NEW
Miysis Studio has proposed combining a reconstruction of a replica of the iconic spire from the 19th century by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc with a modern glazed roof to “find the right balance between history and future” for the cathedral.
But the original 13th-century roof would be replaced with a modern structure constructed from a timber and steel frame as a glass-covered roof space, which would replace the timber structure with what would be known as the Forest – a garden for visitors.
[8]
MOST DETAILED – PALINGENESIS
I can’t help but feel that Vincent Callebaut Architectures has proffered the most detailed proposals for the renovation of Notre Dame. Whether they’re the best will be decided by folks much more educated in the full consequences of this undertaking than I would ever hope to be.
And I truly admire their proposal. (And it’s probably my favorite at this point.) But in all honesty (just like when I built my home working w/ my architect), I don’t get why architects insist on talking in this foreign argot/patois that us humans have NO chance of understanding.
Take a gander at how they detail their proposal:
Vincent Callebaut Architecture titled their project “Palingenesis,” which derives from Greek, meaning “rebirth.” The design combines gothic architecture and a biomimetic forest.
The company’s website explains that they “advocate for an exemplary project in ecological engineering that feels true to its time and avoids a pastiche architecture that turns the city into an open-air museum.
“Circular economy, renewable energies, inclusive social innovation, urban agriculture, protection of biodiversity, without forgetting beauty and spiritual elevation: our reconstruction project feeds on such values to deliver a deep, conscious meaning.”
What the HELL does that mean? Translation Please!
At any rate, here are their proposals:
I’m going to try to include a poll in post. NO idea if this will work, but let’s give it a try:
It looks like if you click on the link below in the Polls, you can vote. HOW & WHERE that is recorded I have NO IDEA!
POLL OUTLIERS (MAYBE):
https://vote.pollcode.com/65299785
POLL (MAYBE): SERIOUS PROPOSALS
https://vote.pollcode.com/38685582
5 Responses to “Saturday Smile: What Will Notre Dame Eventually Look Like?”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Cross posted to Care2 HERE
So this is the project! Wow, Nameless, it looks well worth waiting for to me!
Who would ever have thought that professionals could come up with so many ideas that are so Godawful? I must say, though, Sebastian Errazuiz has a way with words. “every remaining, rapacious architectural firm still circling the carcass” – couldn’t have said it any better!
I kind of like most of the ones with glass – but, with climate disruption bring so much catastrophic weather to so many unexpected places, will it be safe? Especially the stained-glass one. I also, surprisingly, like the blue plastic roof (memo to architects: Green like patinated bronze would also work. Just not both.) But if I can get into that poll, I will vote for “Palingenesis.” (Not a translation, but a paraphrase: They are trying to evoke “resurrection” without using the word. They want to incorporate living plants, because plants are good for people. They DON’T want to try to replicate the original look because that pretty well never works and instead comes off as parody. But they want to be close enough to the original to fit the aesthetic, because the fire was soul-destroying and they want the replacement to be soul-satisfying. Incidentally, from an insurance agent to a physician, I would say that most professionals speak in some kind of jargon sometimes.)
If I can get into the other poll, I will vote for Quasimodo’s penthouse – because that is just over-the-top funny.
(Update – I got into both polls and voted and commented, but you need to right-click and open in a new window. And sub,itting the comment first and then coming back to vote seems to work better to capture both.
I like that out-lyer D … at least one would have a source of water handy for putting out fires!
It could be linked to a smoke detector & sprinklers …
Thanks for your hard work, Tom …
The Jetson’s variety for me! 🚀
Great Job, Nameless. I like the apiary.