Five years after its devastating fire, Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral is preparing to reopen its doors on December 8. And because the monument is a jewel of the capital, the Paris City Hall wanted to offer it a showcase that the municipality presented this Tuesday.
After a “citizen dialogue” and a major citizen consultation launched in 2021, the responsibility for redesigning the surroundings of the cathedral was entrusted to the architect Bas Smets and his team with the mission of “sublimating a historic place, a legacy, which can be part of the great challenge of our century, which is global warming,” recalled Anne Hidalgo.
The square transformed into a clearing
A “peaceful”, “calm”, “vegetable” project and respectful of the existing heritage” which is “the good of all”, added the councilor. To begin with, more green, with 1,800 m2 of green spaces and nearly 130 trees around the cathedral to make its surroundings a real space of urban freshness in which the square would act as a “clearing”.
“This clearing will offer a new view of the cathedral, more shade and refreshment in the heart of the city,” explained Bas Smets. A “blade of water from purified rainwater” will contribute to the cooling of the same square, around which the plantings will be carried out in such a way as not to alter the different perspectives on the building that its surroundings already offer.
Better still, the gates of the Jean-XXIII park will be moved to allow a real opening onto the city to create a belvedere which will allow you to tour the cathedral on foot.
The Jean-XXIII garden keeps its gates
The quays of the Seine will also benefit from the project since nearly 400 meters will be transformed into a real “bank park” with lawns, and the Quai de l’Archevêché will be transformed into a promenade.
To reassure local residents and defenders of the gates of Jean XXIII Park, the initiators of the project, validated by the National Commission for Heritage and Architecture (CNPA), will keep these gates which will only be moved and not removed, as is the case. was a question for a while. Thus, the park will be closed at night, assured Ariel Weil, mayor of Paris Center.
A basement opening onto the Seine
But the biggest part of the transformation is undoubtedly found in the invisible. Indeed, the initial project was to allow a “sober reuse of the basement” of the cathedral square which today houses the archaeological crypt and a car park. This basement will see the development of a “reception center” for visitors, a basement opening onto the Seine which will accommodate different services, giving access to the crypt and the square thanks to two large staircases and elevators.
This basement will also respond to climatic challenges by serving as a place of ventilated shade on hot days, and as a giant shelter on rainy days. “An open covered promenade” as described by Suzanne Eliasson, architect working on the project.
A “very consensual” and “validated by all” project, according to Anne Hidalgo, work on which should begin in the fall of 2025 and be completed in 2028.
