to Provide a gathering place on a temporary basis to millions of devotees and tourists who come every year until reconstruction. The appeal was launched by the rector-archpriest of Notre-Dame de Paris Patrick Chauvet after the fire last April. His cry was heard by the architecture firm Gensler reveals this Tuesday a project to build a “cathedral of the ephemeral” on the front of the building.
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“We have been very touched by the tragedy,” says Philippe Paré, director of design at Gensler. In a spirit of goodwill, we have designed this project with an attitude of modesty and simplicity”. The firm has made models of a structure of 75 22.5 metres, which could accommodate up to 800 persons in a configuration that mass.
Rebuild with… fire! Each year, the cathedral welcomes 13 million visitors from around the world. Gensler
The architects have imagined to build this temporary place with the help of a technique using the burnt wood. “It is an ancient technique, allowing for more longevity and stability, says Philippe Paré. The symbolism is very strong as this has damaged Our Lady is also what will allow him to be reborn from its ashes”.
Of transparent materials such as polycarbonate, translucent and air bags could be used to create a bright space. “We wanted to create a visual connection with the sky and ensure that the cathedral emits light, day or night,” says Philippe Paré. “The idea was not to replicate Our Lady of the identical, but to capture the spirit,” he adds, emphasizing “the juxtaposition of the modern and the old”.
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Outside the mass, the cathedral ephemeral should be able to open to the public thanks to its walls revolving. This place, if the project is successful, will offer religious services, but also exhibitions, concerts and public procurement in order to entertain the 13 million tourists who flock to it every year. The ambitious project, which is still at the conceptual stage, could see the light of day in six months, and occupy a part of the courtyard until the end of the project, planned on the horizon 2024, according to the wish of Emmanuel Macron. The question is whether the installation of this space to the public is compatible with the site of reconstruction. A number of experts who now work on the securing of Our Lady believe that such a project is “hardly possible” as the space is limited on the island of the City.
Of transparent materials such as polycarbonate, translucent, airbags, ethylene tetrafluoroethylene used for the roof was to make this cathedral the ephemeral, a place of light. Gensler
