The Wall Street Journal - 03.04.2020

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. **** Friday, April 3, 2020 |A

WORLD NEWS

Notre Dame’s Repairs StallaYear After Fire

AlmostayearafterlastApril'sdevastatingfire,NotreDameis

stillinafragilestate.Workershadbeenracingtostabilizethe

800-year-oldstructurebeforetheeffortwassuspendedindefinitely

lastmonthduetothecoronaviruspandemic,puttingtheproject

inevengreaterjeopardy.

Oneissueremainsundecided:ShouldNotreDame’sroofandspire

berebuiltastheyoncestoodorgetamakeover?TheFrench

governmenthasfieldedproposalsfromarchitectsaroundtheworld,

fuelingdebate.Thegoalwastohavetherestorationdoneby2024,

whenPariswillbehostingtheSummerOlympics,butworkis

alreadybehindschedule.

Thefiredestroyedasectionofthe

cathedralthatactedasthelinchpinofits

medievaldesign:itsroofandcentralspire.

Likeaballast,thespireandroofpushed

downwardandoutwardonNotreDame’s

limestonewalls,counteringtheinward

pressuregeneratedbythecathedral’s

flyingbuttressesandmassivefacade.

Thecathedraliscoveredinlead

thatmeltedfromtheroofand

spire,whichweremadeofseveral

hundredtonsofthetoxicmetal.

Workersdoingcleanupwear

hazmatsuitstopreventlead

contaminationandshowereach

timetheyleavethesite.

Spire

Apse

Vaultedceiling

Limestonewalls

Flyingbuttresses Gables

Southtower

NaveNaveNave

Northtower

Lead-coveredroof

NotreDame’sfamousflyingbuttressesare

stillpushingagainstthewalls,butwithout

thecounterweightoftheroofandspire,they

areatriskofcollapsingifthevaultsgiveway.

Wedgedbetweentheflyingbuttressesand

themainwall,these8-toncrutches(below)

aredesignedtopreventwallsfromcollapsing

ifthevaultedceilinggivesway.

Workershadstarted

buildinganew

scaffoldingtoremove

theoldonebeforethe

projectwassuspended

inMarch.Eventually,

workersknownas

squirrelswillrappelby

ropeovertheold

scaffolding,removingit

piecebypieceoverthe

courseofafewmonths.

Waterusedtodousetheflamescreated

fissuresinthemassivestonesthatarc

aboveNotreDame’snave,andseepedinto

thejointsandmortar,leadingtocrumbling.

Someofthatwatermayhavefrozenover

thewinter,potentiallyweakeningthe

structurefurther.

MAINENTRANCE

Withoutthespireandroofinplace,the

limestonewallsofNotreDame’snaveare

atriskoftiltinginwardanditsvaulted

ceilingcanbuckle.Already,about15%

oftheceilingcollapsedduringthefire

andoverthesummer.

Charredscaffoldingloomsatthe

cathedral’smostvulnerablepoint,

wherethespireoncerose.Ithadbeen

erectedforrestorationeffortsbefore

thefire.Nowdistortedandhighly

unstable,ithasbeenswayinginthe

windandrain.Itscollapsewouldbe

catastrophic.

transept

Sources: French Ministry of Culture, Notre Dame Cathedral Conservation and Restoration Authority, Pierre Noel, Google Earth Written by Noemie Bisserbe and Stacy Meichtry, illustrations by Merrill Sherman, production by Roque Ruiz and Todd Lindeman/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

North Spire

tower

South

tower

Flyingbuttresses

Southrosewindow

Mainfeatures

Arowof60-footwoodenbeams

(below)hangsabovethevaulted

ceilingoftheapse,creatinga

platformforworkerstoassess

damageandmakerepairs.

ngfire,NotreDameis

racingtostabilizethe

wassuspendedindefinitely

emic,puttingtheproject

otreDame’sroofandspire

akeover?TheFrench

architectsaroundtheworld,

erestorationdoneby2024,

Olympics,butworkis

The

cath

med

Like

dow

lim

pre

flyi

Spi

mescreated trtranseanseptpt

Exposedceiling

Agianttarpaulinhasbeenstretchedover

theexposedceiling,coveringcrater-like

holes.Theupperwindowsofthenave

andtheapsehavebeenremovedfor

protection.Temporarycoversshieldthe

cathedral’sfamedtrioofrosewindows

fromtheelements.

Inside,twopillars,damagedbythe
spirewhenitcamedowninflames,
havebeenreinforced.Themainaltar,
withitsbaroquesculpturesdepicting
thevowofKingLouisXIII,hasbeen
coveredwithawoodenbox.

Thegablesarealsoatriskbecausetheyareno

longersupportedbytheroof.Thenorthgable

nearlycollapsedduringthefire.

Giantwoodensupportshavebeeninstalledto

reinforcethenorth,westandsouthgables.

Beams