PARIS: France will open the redesign of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral’s historic spire to international architects after Monday night’s catastrophic blaze that gutted the oak-framed roof and sent the towering spire crashing through the vaulted ceiling. The government’s announcement on Wednesday added to a question many are asking as France grieves for its damaged national symbol — whether the familiar outline at the heart of the capital should be restored exactly as it was or given a modern twist.
President Emmanuel Macron pledged in a prime-time address to the nation on Tuesday that Notre-Dame would be rebuilt within five years. Tycoons and international firms have promised financial and expert help. The cathedral was built over nearly 200 years starting in the middle of the 12th century, although it was only in the mid 1800s that architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc added the lead-covered spire during restoration work. “The international competition will allow us to ask the question of whether we should even recreate the spire as it was conceived by Viollet-le-Duc,” Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said.
“Or whether, as is often the case during the evolution of heritage, we should endow Notre-Dame with a new spire that reflects the techniques and challenges of our era.” Monday’s inferno devastated a world treasure, prompting an outpouring of collective sorrow and soul-searching in France over whether to recreate the destroyed rooftop and spire or adapt the cathedral to the 21st century. As Philippe spoke, firefighters were using a crane to hoist supports to stabilise a fire-ravaged pinnacle that houses one of Notre-Dame’s 13th-century stained-glass rose windows. — Reuters
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