Notre Dame fire: France plans international architecture contest to rebuild iconic spire

The massive fire gutted the oak-beamed structure and sent its 300-foot spire crashing into the nave, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said.

Seen from across the Seine River, smoke and flames rise during a fire at the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris on April 15, 2019, potentially involving renovation works being carried out at the site, the fire service said. (Photo by FRANCOIS GUILLOT / AFP)

New Delhi: France has decided to come up with a global architectural contest for the overhaul of the Notre-Dame Cathedral, which was devastated after a colossal fire engulfed it two days ago. The architectural competition will be held to renovate the roofline of iconic Notre Dame cathedral. The massive fire gutted the oak-beamed structure and sent its 300-foot spire crashing into the nave, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said. “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. Or, as is often the case in the evolution of heritage, whether we should endow Notre Dame with a new spire. This is obviously a huge challenge, a historic responsibility," Philippe was quoted by agency IANS after a cabinet meeting. He said they hoped for "a new spire that is adapted to the techniques and the challenges of our era". No estimation of the cost of rebuilding the cathedral, for which French billionaires, multi-nationals and private citizens had raised 880 million euros, had been done, he said. The government would present a bill next week to ensure "transparency and good management" during the mammoth reconstruction project, including measures to make sure all donations actually end up going to Notre Dame, he added. Ordinary French citizens will benefit from a tax break of 75 per cent on donations up to 1,000 euros. The spire was destroyed in the flames that tore through the 850-year-old Gothic building's roof. According to officials, the entire cathedral was minutes away from total destruction. However, much of the building, including its famed towers, survived. Now the focus is on how to reconstruct what has been lost. The iconic cathedral, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the most celebrated monuments globally. On Monday, days ahead of the World Heritage Day (April 18), an inferno ripped through the over 850-year-old iconic Paris landmark destroying a large part of its roof and causing its central spire to collapse, leaving the world stunned. (inputs from agencies)