Location: Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France
Type: Renovation
Notre Dame’s Prismic Spire
A vision for the future of Notre Dame is a celebratory and bold intervention. That acknowledges the tragedy with hopeful optimism toward the future instead of remorse.
A shining Spire of colour, inspired by the French Gothic Architecture of the Cathedral. Combining innovative use of structure, light and colour. The new spire grows out of the famous cross ribbed vaults. Creating a prismic shard that ascends to the same height of the original spire. The columns taper and merge at the peak to create the Cross.
Accepting the destruction as an opportunity to enhance the original cathedral, working from the collapsed vaults. Instead of sealing it, installing a fifth façade, allowing light from above for the first time. Creating a new sense of verticality above the ‘Latin cross’. A spire that is a new façade, a stained-glass spire, that brings light and colour from above.
The stained-glass windows is a space for Parisian artists and craftsmen, a giant canvas for storytelling. Like the existing Rose Windows, the glazing would have a dominant colour. A collage of fiery orange, burning reds and blinding whites. The colours will glow with sunlight. At night, the glowing spire will be a ghostly memory of the tragic event.
The proposal aims to create a balanced design for the Notre Dame Cathedral, repairing and restoring the roof and vaulted ceiling where sensible, erecting a new spire where it is not. The cruciform roof is restored to its previous form and cladding, to maintain the aesthetic of the cathedral. New functional spaces are introduced into these roof spaces. The main roof chamber will include museum and gallery, dedicated to the history of the cathedral, including the two previous spires.