Notre Dame: A Hole in the Heart of Paris
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The extent of the destruction of Notre Dame remains unknown, but what is sure is that those tasked with its eventual rebuilding should honor the delicate balance struck by its earlier designers.
The full extent of the destruction of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, surely the most beloved of all Gothic buildings, will not be known for some time, but for world culture it is a catastrophe. The mighty timber frame of the roof, a prodigy of 13th-century carpentry, is a complete loss. So too the elegant open spire over the crossing, that essential feature of the Paris skyline (although an addition by Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, who restored the cathedral in the 19th century).
Many will have been surprised to learn that a Gothic cathedral can burn. But as the recent destruction of the Glasgow School of Art reminds me, there is a great deal of combustible material in a masonry building.
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