No modern twists for Notre Dame

NOTRE Dame Cathedral will be rebuilt just the way it stood before last year’s fire. And to stay historically accurate, the medieval monument will again be built with potentially toxic lead.

That is the verdict reached by French President Emmanuel Macron, the cathedral’s present-day architects and the general in charge of the colossal reconstruction project for one of the world’s most treasured landmarks.

Macron, who wants Notre Dame reopened for the 2024 Olympics, had initially pushed for a contemporary touch atop the cathedral, prompting eye-catching proposals from architects around the world. But he came around to the traditionalists’ argument, and approved reconstruction plans for the monument that were presented on Thursday. The plan includes recreating the 19th-century spire designed by Eugène Viollet-le-duc that collapsed in the fire and “favours fidelity to the monument’s form and a restoration of the cathedral in its latest state”.

That means how Notre Dame was on the afternoon of April 15 last year, before the fire consumed the roof and threatened the rose-windowed twin towers that keep the cathedral upright.

More than a year later, the structure remains unstable. It took nearly a year to clear out lead residue released in the fire and to get to the point where workers could start removing scaffolding that had been in place for a previous renovation effort. The actual reconstruction won’t start until next year.

The plan says the project will replicate original materials “to guarantee the authenticity, harmony and coherence of this masterpiece of Gothic art”. Those materials included tons of lead, which is raising concerns among health and environmental groups.

Lead particles released during the fire forced schools in the area to close and prompted the lengthy clean up of the neighbourhood.