Before rebuilding Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral and its “identical” arrow , as recommended by National Heritage and Architecture Commission in charge of its reconstruction on July 9 last, whose opinion was approved in the wake of the Élysée, preliminary studies are necessary. L ‘association “Restore Notre-Dame” (RND) , created in June 2019 and mobilized for the wooden reconstruction of the mythical framework and the emblematic spire signed Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, came this Thursday to the ” ENSTIB (National School of Wood Technologies and Industries) of Épinal , launch the university study project for their restoration. Led by Franck Besançon, president of the technical, scientific and university commission of RND and Gilles Duchanois, of the ENSA (National School of Architecture) in Nancy, this project will be organized in collaboration with several grandes écoles, universities and research laboratories. Obviously, Lorraine and its centers of expertise around wood occupy a good place there.
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The school of architecture (ENSA) of Nancy and the school of technologies and wood industries (ENSTIB) of Épinal will be at the heart of the discussions, in collaboration with the school of wood of Nantes and the higher school of Saarbrücken (Germany). “It is possible that a school in Rome is also associated”, advance Franck Besançon.
This project will be carried out “by around thirty students from these establishments either as part of a master’s 2 or a final project”, he further indicates. The works have, moreover, started this Thursday for a restitution scheduled for December 18. Pascal Jacob, president of RND, has also unveiled the next steps. “At the end of 2020, the full diagnosis will be known. In January 2021, consultations will begin for a launch of work in the fall of 2021 ”. This study project is backed by a committee of experts made up of carpenters, engineers and journeymen. Their role will be to give credibility to this approach, which will be divided into six themes: wood assemblies, gravity and climatic effects, the manufacture of a new frame, the environmental impact, the exploration of the various reconstruction possibilities, restoration of heritage buildings.
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Room for maneuver
It is obviously a question of going beyond the simple debate between the “medieval” on one side and the moderns of wood on the other. “Identical” means guaranteeing the shape, volume and exterior appearance. But for the interior aspect, all is not fixed. On the contrary. The whole in oak evolves. Wood species better suited to current constructions could be included. A whole digital work will also begin knowing that no study on the stability of the cathedral has yet been delivered. Hence the relevance that his studies can also be carried out on site, in Notre-Dame de Paris whose reopening is still scheduled for 2024.
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