Rebuilding Notre-Dame de Paris, “a consecration” for the mobilized carpenters

On April 15, 2019, the French held their breath: a fire ravaged Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. During the drama, a cry of fear suddenly escapes from the mass of Parisians and tourists camped on the banks of the Seine to observe, helplessly, the terrible spectacle: the spire of the architect Viollet-le-Duc, built in 1859 and 96 meters high, collapsed with a crash into the blaze.

Thanks to the courage of the 400 firefighters who worked all night to put out the flames, the Gothic building was saved. A general mobilization followed, going beyond the borders of France, to raise the funds necessary for the reconstruction and organization of the site. Among the structural work trades which took part in this exceptional work, that of carpenter particularly stood out for rebuilding the missing spire.

Innovations

Four companies won the call for tenders launched by the public establishment Rebâtir Notre-Dame to rebuild its oak frame: Asselin, Le Bras Frères, Cruard Charpente and MDB Métiers du bois. To accomplish the mission entrusted to them, the professionals then shared the tasks. “Everything had burned so we had to