Sad News for Notre-Dame ...

[Kladdagh]

There is actually a fire at Notre Dame de Paris ...
Here are the news in French ...
It's horrible ...

[Nicholas Ward]

I'll wait for the people using the image of the burning building as an allegory for the current state of France or even Europe. :P

[Lokuzt]

just saw a video of a roof and spire collapsing so sad! that building is almost 900 years old

[Perfect Warrior]

Very sad that an iconic piece of history is going up like that, it took 168 years to build.

With worldwide coverage like this they'll get donations like crazy to rebuild. (Excuse my cynicism, but this is surely going to be all over various cable specialty channels as they go through the rubble and then rebuild.)

[dubiousbystander]

Actually... I don't know if it is worthwhile using as an allegory. This article from 2017 tells us more than a bit about the condition of that wonderful place. http://time.com/4876087/notre-dame-c...-is-crumbling/

Now, this happened, so constructing Notre Dame anew is probably entirely possible, and even less expensive with a great deal out of the way, now.
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/...dieval-gothic/

[Perfect Warrior]

Ah, National Geographic's people did scan it. I think my PVR dustbunny is their scan of Chartres. My mind now goes to the drooling fit scientists had over all the dashcam data when that meteor blew out windows over Russia. They're going to have so much data on that building to repair it to the nanometer, even getting it back on plumb.

By the time I watched the late news the pledges were already rolling in, public and private. Given the lack of damage to the 'bones' of the building in a century the tour guides will be reducing this incident to a paragraph about the '2019 Easter Week fire'.

[Cyrus The Great]

I watched in horror as the Notre Dame Cathedral was burning. I have admired its amazing architecture since I was a boy. After the fire was put out, I was relieved that the stone structure is mostly intact and that many of the stained glass windows are repairable or undamaged. The French President wants to rebuild the Cathedral in five years, but experts are saying 10 to 15 years is more realistic. I will be interested to hear what materials will be used to replace the lost roof trusses. As an engineer, I think that something fireproof like steel or aluminum trusses would be preferable to wood.

[Coolwater]

That was my thought, too. Cyrus. The massive trees they used in the first place were mowed down by building and wars. Ideally, they will use a strong, fire proof material that can mimic the original rafters.
As for allegories, Macron is using the fire to try to pull France together.

[Cyrus The Great]

I saw two architectural renderings for proposed new roof designs. One drawing showed the new roof looking like a giant greenhouse with all glass. The other showed a flat roof planted with an orchard of fruit trees and a new spire filled with bee hives. Conservative politicians were apparently horrified by both!

[Perfect Warrior]

Greenhouse glass? It could solve the problem of how such ancient stone buildings with high roofs are so expensive to heat, and increase the area available for stained glass, but I don't see that as a durable and safe option.

[Coolwater]

Not exactly a reconstruction of the past!

[Cyrus The Great]

I read a recent article that mentioned that an engineer has examined the stone walls that are no longer supported from the sides by the lost roof trusses. He calculated that the unbraced stone walls could sustain a wind of about 60 mph. The braced walls prior to the fire could sustain a wind of about 130mph. So, there is a rather urgent need to erect some temporary bracing until the lost trusses can be replaced.

[Coolwater]

The other day there was an article in the NY Times that the damage was far greater than originally reported. Maybe steel, glass and stone are a really good idea.

[Cyrus The Great]

The article below talks about the risk of lead exposure that is currently delaying reconstruction efforts. The roof of the cathedral was covered with tons of lead sheets, much of which melted in the fire. There are some schools nearby in which children have been found to have elevated lead levels in their blood. The fire debris may or may not be effecting the children, but to protect restoration workers, the site must be thoroughly decontaminated.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/notre-d...ay-11565376078

[Cyrus The Great]

I read an article recently that said that it will definitely take more than five years to rebuild Notre-Dame. There is a large group of scientists, art historians, architects, etc. who are studying the remaining parts of the cathedral. It may take them more than a year just to decide how to begin the restoration.

[Coolwater]

Don't you wonder what the children of lead and stained workers must have been like? There's a stained glass exhibit on the Navy Pier in Chicago that I love, but I can't help but think of the lead.

[Kladdagh]

Yes ... Could be ... History is going slow ...
I just only hope we will not be disapointed by the project they will choose.

[Coolwater]

Eh, Klad, we're Highlander fans. We're used to disappointment.

[Kladdagh]

Yes Coolwater ... Forgot that point ... You are right on that.

[Cyrus The Great]

I was just looking up the repair progress and learned that the approved plan to rebuild the roof and spire will require about a 1500 very old oak trees to be felled. I am sorry to hear that because I would rather that the old trees remain standing for the enjoyment of present and future generations. Also, from a purely practical standpoint, replacing the destroyed wood roof structure with more wood will leave the Cathedral roof vulnerable to burning again.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ame-fire-trees

[dubiousbystander]

I was just looking up the repair progress and learned that the approved plan to rebuild the roof and spire will require about a 1500 very old oak trees to be felled. I am sorry to hear that because I would rather that the old trees remain standing for the enjoyment of present and future generations. Also, from a purely practical standpoint, replacing the destroyed wood roof structure with more wood will leave the Cathedral roof vulnerable to burning again.

Is there a good non-flammable alternative? I really don't know.

[Cyrus The Great]

Is there a good non-flammable alternative? I really don't know.

Steel or aluminum trusses and other structural members would be lighter weight and non-flammable. But, I think like an engineer not an architectural historian.

[Kladdagh]

It was a long time the fire destroyed Notre Dame ...
If you are interested about the restoration project, I receive some news about it.
There are 2 numeric papers for now.
The links for the first issue : https://www.calameo.com/read/00557636894eb0332971f
The second : https://www.calameo.com/read/0055763...d=25eQ4tyLmUSP
It is the english edition

(Sorry, I didn't understand how to post both links)

[Cyrus The Great]

I looked at the links to the magazine. The pictures were very interesting. Thanks for posting this.

[Cyrus The Great]

Apparently the reconstruction work is going very well and is even ahead of schedule!

[dubiousbystander]

Apparently the reconstruction work is going very well and is even ahead of schedule!

Oh that's lovely to read!

[Perfect Warrior]

CBC has some 'exclusive access' pictures: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/notre-...ller-1.7265895

[Cyrus The Great]

That was an excellent article about the Notre-Dame reconstruction. I liked the pictures and video too.