Project Description

The Reconstruction of Notre Dame

Our proposal aims at the revival of a Cathedral made by man for man, a goal to be accomplished by way of its roof, which is its crown. Within it, the memory of the people of Paris and its history are enshrined in a forest that integrates three elements of the applied arts: architecture, painting and music. They enhance the sensory spirituality of those who walk through this sublime space revering their glorious past and, in the symbols present, their tradition. In the center stands the towering spike, which can be seen from the inside.

The development of our internal space seeks to be respectful to the building and its use. It tries not to be invasive and preserves, to a large extent, the outward appearance which has coexisted with its city for 800 years.  Through the integration between the different arts, it seeks to exalt the most important moments of French culture: Gothic, Impressionism and sacred music. The mixture of those three primordial elements i­s the root of our design.

Inspired by Monet's work, we will build a walkway along the roof, floating above the stone vaults. Its sinuous curvature will make us feel like we are floating on water. The walkway moves along a structural grove, whose dense "branches" will get us lost in the feeling of being in a magical forest where the beams of light, just as in impressionist art, represent color and time. Inspired by Pérotin’s score for ALLELUIA, the holes interspersed throughout the roof and ceiling shape the matrix of these beams of light. They filter the sunlight for us, creating that magical space.

The original ledges will be transformed into balconies allowing visitors access to the view of Paris, and as in a Via Crucis, twelve monitors will tell us the history of Paris through Notre Dame.

In the center, at the junction of the nave and the transept, we generate a platform which is the Crown of Thorns, representing the sacrifice of Christ. There, in the center, an opening of light “invites” us on a spiritual pathway to heaven. Two spiral staircases, each of 91 steps, cross each other led by the Apostles, that line each side of the stairs to inspire this journey towards God. The sum of the steps represents 182 years it took to build Notre Dame.

The roof will be a replica of the original one using the appropriate materials to preserve the building’s integrity.

The ridge will be finished with the intercalation of the Fleur de Lis and the Fasces, which symbolize the path between the Monarchy and the Republic.

Our intention, regarding the symbolism, is to represent the most sublime moment of the human soul’s elevation towards its encounter with God.