Launched after the Notre-Dame fire, the redevelopment project around the cathedral took shape on Tuesday, June 27, with the announcement, by the mayor of Paris, of the winning team of the competition launched in September 2021. It was the Belgian landscaper Bas Smets (BBS), associated with the architecture and urban planning agency Grau and, for the heritage aspect, with the architecture agency Neufville-Gayet, who prevailed over the three other finalist teams, chosen from among 139 candidates at the start.
Present alongside Anne Hidalgo at the Arsenal pavilion where the four competing projects are exhibited (1), Canon Gilles Drouin, representing the diocese, and Philippe Jost, general manager of the public establishment responsible for the restoration of Notre-Dame, were pleased to have been closely associated with the deliberations of the jury.
Notre-Dame de Paris, the major construction site around
At the time of climate change, it is the particularly eco-responsible aspect of the project carried out by BBS that has seduced. It is also the most discreet architecturally.
In the old car parks under the forecourt, now devoted to welcoming visitors, the team of landscaper Michel Desvignes associated with Grafton Architectes had imagined a hollow open square, topped by concrete beams reminiscent of flying buttresses and a beautiful staircase in crossed curves. That of Aymeric Antoine and Pierre Dufour had designed vast bleachers descending towards the Seine.
Access to revegetation
The winning team maintained this 3,000 m underground space2 and 4 m high (removing the central slab), fully covered for more coolness in summer and warmth in winter. Its only openings will be a glazed colonnade on the Seine side, closed by a cofferdam in case of flooding, and two wide staircases leading to the forecourt, one on the west side, the other on the east side, the latter rising with a low-angle view towards Cathedral.
Access to the archaeological crypt will be via this underground reception area, and no longer via the interior of the cathedral as before. “The remains linked to ancient Lutèce will thus be better connected to the river”, explained Susanne Eliasson, co-founder of the Grau agency. Access to the cathedral will continue to be via the central facade for individual visitors and via the north side, in rue du Cloître, for groups.
Bas Smets has clearly emphasized the greening of the surroundings, while leaving the space of the forecourt bare as provided for in the specifications. Thus, to the current trees, all maintained, will be added 130 new ones, planted along the police headquarters, around the building and in the rue du Cloître to provide shade for tourists and limit the wind.
A water mirror on the forecourt in the event of a heat wave
Vast lawns will also be strewn over a 1.5 hectare strip along the Seine and, behind the cathedral around the fountain of the Virgin, visitors will be able to stand there to admire the apse and the stained glass windows. In total, 36% of additional vegetated areas will thus be created on the 4 hectares surrounding the cathedral.
In order to restore continuity of circulation around the monument, as the town hall wished, all the gates of Square Jean-XXIII and Square de l’Île-de-France will be removed, and the latter will be slightly raised to offer a better view. on the Ile Saint-Louis. Only sliding gates will be preserved around the cathedral in order to protect it, especially at night.
Nice find to refresh the granite forecourt: a very thin sheet of water 5 mm thick can be poured there in the event of a heat wave, taking advantage of the slight east-west slope, which should make it possible to lower the temperature 10°C (5°C felt). This rainwater collected and stored in the underground reception areas will have the effect of creating a “mirror” on the forecourt conducive to reflections, especially at sunset, which should be appreciated by tourists and photographers.
The total cost of the project is estimated at 50 million euros, entirely financed by the City and corresponding to its promised contribution for the rescue of the cathedral after the fire. Work should begin in the second half of 2024 and be completed in 2027. Finally, when asked about the advisability of creating a museum of the work around Notre-Dame, the mayor of Paris replied that, at a time of change climate change and given the dwindling resources of local communities, it was not “not his priority”.
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The timeline for rebuilding
September 18, 2021. End of site security work. Beginning of the cleaning of the vaults, walls and floor. The restoration of the Grand Orgue and the Mays has begun.
June 2022. Beginning of the restoration of the stained glass windows. The project of the Belgian landscape architect Bas Smets associated with the Grau agency is chosen for the development of the surroundings.
Spring 2023. Installation of scaffolding 100 meters high to rebuild the spire of Notre-Dame.
Courant 2023. Reassembly of the Great Organ.
16 avril 2024. Celebration of a You gods in the nave of the cathedral, reopened and returned to worship.
September 2024. Beginning of the redevelopment of the surroundings of the cathedral.
2025 ? Completion of the reconstruction of the cathedral.
2027. End of the redevelopment of the surroundings.