Notre Dame in Paris is still at risk
The cathedral “is not saved yet” and its vaulted ceilings “might collapse.”
According to a recent report by the Associated Press, the reconstruction of fire-devastated Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France is still ongoing and the city iconic landmark “is not saved yet because there’s still a risk its vaulted ceilings might collapse.”
General Jean-Louis Georgelin, in charge of the reconstruction efforts, told French media in January that “the cathedral is still in a state of peril” after the terrible April 2019 fire that destroyed the cathedral’s roof and toppled its 300-foot, 750-ton spire.
“Notre Dame is not saved because […] there is an extremely important step ahead, which is to remove the scaffolding that had been built around the spire” before the fire, Georgelin said.
This does not come as a surprise. In December last year, Monsignor Patrick Chauvet, the rector of Notre Dame, told the AP that the cathedral was still very fragile, and that there’s a “50% chance” the structure might not be saved, because the scaffolding may fall onto the vaulted ceilings.
Our Adventures in Preservation blog reported extensively on the Notre Dame fire last year:
About Adventures in Preservation (AiP)
Adventures in Preservation (AiP) is a non-profit connecting people and preservation through enriching cultural heritage travel and hands-on education. AiP was founded in 2001 by two women with a great love of historic buildings and a strong desire to travel and understand the world. While perusing the travel section of the Boulder Bookstore, the Volunteer Vacation section suddenly brought everything into focus. Judith Broeker and Jamie Donahoe combined their goal of saving historic buildings with the concept of experiential travel, and created AiP’s hands-on preservation vacations.
Work started on several sites in the U.S., and as word spread, requests for help began to pour in from around the world, underscoring the great potential of using volunteers to restore historic buildings. In supporting community-based preservation initiatives, we discovered that our love of old buildings could translate into environmental and economic sustainability for communities.
AiP is picking up the pace! As our hands-on experiential travel becomes more popular, we have new projects, new partners and initiatives to keep you excited and involved.
