Snøhetta considers Notre Dame spire
France will hold a competition to design the new spire for its iconic cathedral
Gerard Taylor
Norway Today
Photo: Antoninnnn / Wikimedia Commons
The spire of Notre Dame, added in the mid-19th century, collapsed due to fire on April 15.
The architectural office, which is behind Oslo’s opera house and other striking projects around the world, told NRK that it will consider entering the competition to design a new main spire for the famous cathedral, which on April 15 was hit by a heavy fire.
“We will consider participating in a competition to draw the spire. As one of the world’s most important historical monuments, it is a task one must show great respect,” said one of Snøhetta’s founders, Kjetil Trædal Thorsen.
On April 17, France’s Prime Minister, Édouard Philippe, said architects around the world will have to compete to rebuild the spire of the Notre Dame cathedral. The aim of the architectural competition is to “give Notre Dame a spire that is adapted to the technique and the challenges we have today,” according to Phillipe.
Speaking after a cabinet meeting held by President Emmanuel Macron on reconstruction plans, Philippe said that the competition “will allow us to ask the question of whether we should even recreate the spire as it was conceived by [architect Eugene] Viollet-le-Duc,” reported Reuters.
Macron’s goal is to have the cathedral rebuilt in five years and for it to be “even more beautiful.”
According to Thorsen, the architectural office will try to find a partner that specializes in historical buildings in Paris and that is licensed to operate with protected buildings.
Another company that may participate in the competition is Jensen & Skodvin architect office AS. The company has not yet decided.
The general manager of Jensen & Skodvin, Jan Olav Jensen, believes that the competition will have massive international participation.
This article was originally published on Norway Today.
This article originally appeared in the May 3, 2019, issue of The Norwegian American.
