Four years ago, an art historian used lasers to digitally
map Notre Dame Cathedral. His work could help save it
By Michelle Lou and Brandon Griggs, CNN
Updated 0319 GMT (1119 HKT) April 17, 2019
(CNN)Although parts
of Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral now lie in ruins, people can still experience what
most of its nooks and crannies looked like in remarkable detail -- thanks to an
American art historian.
Andrew Tallon, a professor of art at Vassar College, used
lasers to painstakingly scan the cathedral in 2015, giving us a nearly perfect
digital replica of the Gothic structure. And his work could help architects and
engineers rebuild it after Monday's fire.
Tallon studied Gothic architecture and sought to understand
how medieval builders erected some of Europe's great cathedrals. So he created
a spatial map of Notre Dame using more than a billion laser-measured points.
Even though Tallon died in December, his digital model will
be crucial for restoration efforts because it details exactly what the church
looked like before the fire's destruction.
"If (restorers) have any questions about how it was
built before, they can look at the scan and measure every single thing,"
said Dan Edleson, principal of building information modeling firm STEREO. The
scans are a "very accurate representation to the level that until a few
years ago nobody could do."
The Notre Dame Cathedral has been repeatedly modified over
almost seven centuries, making the architectural history of the building
difficult to follow. But through 3D laser scanning, Tallon unveiled the
builders' decisions and previously unknown characteristics of the majestic
structure. For example, his scans showed that the interior columns at the
western end of the cathedral do not line up.
His data will help architects recreate measurements
Restoration will take years, but Tallon's scan data will be
invaluable in the process.
Tallon set up a tripod with a laser beam in more than 50
different locations around the cathedral to gather data points and get a spatial
understanding of the structure. It's the same technology that self-driving cars
use to identify objects around them, Edleson said.
The biggest part of the reconstruction will be the
cathedral's roof, much of which was destroyed in the fire.
"Scan data ... will help them recreate measurements for
beams and the overall structure," said Krupali Uplekar Krusche, who leads
a team at Notre Dame University that uses 3D scanning to document historic
monuments.
The data can show "how the building is constructed ...
and you can see every corner, every detail digitally," Krusche added.
The level of detail -- which is accurate up to a couple
millimeters -- will prove handy when it comes to restoring the cathedral's
spire, which was intricately made, Krusche said.
Tallon's data by itself isn't enough to carry out a
restoration, however. Architects will also need to incorporate information from
past restorations, such as building materials, as well as photographs,
measurements and drawings.
Tallon was worried about the cathedral's condition
Before he died last year, Tallon had expressed concern over
Notre Dame's crumbling state of disrepair. In a 2017 video, he strolled along
its roof, pointing to missing pieces, deteriorating gargoyles and water damage
to the stones.
The scholar co-founded an organization, Friends of
Notre-Dame de Paris in America, which raises funds for repairing the beloved
cathedral.
"So what I hope you can see by walking through this
forest of stones is that they're suffering," Tallon said in the video.
"Through exposure to water, through exposure to atmospheric pollution,
they need some attention ... a lot of attention."
LETTER FROM PARIS
Notre Dame fire shakes France, tests Macron
Blaze comes just as French president was seeking to draw a
line under political crisis.
By JOHN
LICHFIELD 4/16/19, 9:05 AM
CET Updated 4/16/19, 4:21 PM CET
PARIS — Just before 8 p.m. Monday night, the narrow spire of
Notre Dame cathedral in Paris turned into a candle of flame and melted into the
blazing roof below.
It was impossible, at that moment, not to think of September
11, 2001.
But despite the visual similarities, this could not be
termed France’s twin towers moment. There was no sense of having been attacked
by an implacable foe. There was no loss of life.
Yet there was a sense of a nation having been stabbed in the
heart — struck in the core of its identity. A feeling of the collapse of
certainties that once seemed unchallengeable and everlasting.
Notre Dame, in one form or another, has occupied its site in
the heart of Paris for almost 1,000 years.
The destruction, or at least desecration, of such a powerful
symbol of national identity comes at a time when France is uncertain and
divided.
At 6:50 p.m. Monday evening, a small nest of flames appeared
in scaffolding around the narrow spire at the eastern end of the most visited
building in Europe. Within one hour, the 96-meter-high, 19th century spire and
most of the roof had vanished. Only the courage of firefighters saved the main
structure of the building, including the rose windows — amongst the greatest
works of the Middle Ages — and the twin towers at the western end.
Speculation began online that the fire might have been an
act of “anti-Christian” terrorism a few days before Easter. There has been a
series of unexplained fires in French churches in recent months. The Paris fire
brigade dismissed such theories out of hand, saying everything pointed to the
blaze having started accidentally in scaffolding recently erected for
restoration work.
All the same, the near destruction of such a beloved and
emblematic building will test the nerve of a country seeking to recover from 22
consecutive weekends of Yellow Jacket protests against President Emmanuel
Macron and democratic institutions. Only a month ago, parts of the Avenue des
Champs Elysées, another Parisian icon, were in flames when Yellow Jackets and
ultra-left allies rioted. On December 1, the Arc de Triomphe was vandalized and
covered in graffiti during an early Yellow Jackets protest.
Macron was supposed to deliver a television address at 8
p.m. Monday night to announce policy changes to respond to the Yellow Jackets
anger. His appearance was canceled. The president went instead with the mayor
of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, to gaze at the blazing cathedral.
“The whole nation is stricken,” the president tweeted. “Part
of us is burning.”
A historian of French Catholicism, Camille Pascal, said:
“This is not just a trauma. It’s the live amputation of the national memory and
identity of France. For more than eight and a half centuries, no joyous or
calamitous event has not been celebrated or marked by the bells of Notre Dame.
What is burning tonight is the heart of the nation — whether Christian
believers or not, it is who we are.”
Symbol of survival
Notre Dame Cathedral, begun in its present form in 1163,
survived the Wars of Religion and the French Revolution (when it became a
Temple of Reason). It survived the Prussian siege in 1870-71 and the
revolutionary Commune which followed.
It survived the bombardments by Big Bertha and other German
guns in 1914-18. It survived Adolf Hitler’s demolition plans in August 1944.
Notre Dame is by no means the biggest and maybe not the most
spectacular cathedral in the world. But it is the most famous and the most
emblematic, floating like a giant swan on an island in the river Seine.
It was the only cathedral to be the subject of a great novel
and — as a result — the only cathedral to be celebrated by a Walt Disney
animated film. The supposed “home” of Victor Hugo’s hunchbacked bell-ringer
Quasimodo, in the wooden rafters and attics of Notre Dame, was utterly destroyed
Monday night.
The destruction, or at least desecration, of such a powerful
symbol of national identity comes at a time when France is uncertain and
divided. How will the nation respond?
In November 2015, the country reacted magnificently in the
wake of the Bataclan and other terrorist murders.
Macron sought Monday night to turn the disaster into a cause
which could, once again, bring the nation together.
“Our history is burning but I want to speak of hope,” he
said. “We should have pride in all those [firefighters] who prevented the
worst. This cathedral we built during the centuries and now we will recreate
it. Tomorrow a national fund will be launched and we will appeal to all the
greatest talents. This cathedral we will rebuild together.”
The first test of national togetherness will come this
weekend. The Yellow Jackets, whose movement has been receding in recent weeks,
had promised to make a “big effort” in Paris on Saturday to reject Macron’s
policy proposals, whatever they might be. The authorities fear there will also
be a big turnout by the Black Bloc urban guerillas, who led the burning and
pillaging on the Champs Elysées on March 16.
Another riot in Paris a few days after a national calamity
might destroy what remains of popular patience for the Yellow Jackets. Will the calamity at Notre Dame calm tempers,
among the Yellow Jackets, if not the Black Blocs?
John Lichfield is a former foreign editor of the Independent
and was the newspaper’s Paris correspondent for 20 years.
Macron draws parallel between Notre Dame and political
turmoil
President addresses nation and says he wants cathedral
reconstruction finished in five years.
By RYM MOMTAZ 4/16/19, 9:37 PM CET Updated 4/17/19, 12:03 AM
CET
PARIS — Emmanuel Macron said he wants Notre Dame cathedral,
which was ravaged by fire on Monday, to be rebuilt within five years.
Macron gave a televised address on Tuesday evening that was
short and solemn, but that also attempted to draw a parallel between the blaze
at the cathedral and the political turmoil France has been experiencing for
five months because of the Yellow Jackets protests.
"I profoundly believe that it is up to us to transform
this catastrophe into an opportunity to come together and think about what we
were and what we need to become, to improve ourselves," Macron said in
what was a clear metaphor for the deep political divisions within France.
Because of the fire, Macron had postponed a long-awaited
televised speech planned for Monday evening at which he was going to outline measures
he plans to take following nationwide public debates held in response to the
protests.
"I will get back to you as I had promised in the coming
days so we can collectively act together after the great debate, but now is not
the time," he said Tuesday.
"After the time of hardship, the time of reflection and
action will come but let's not mix them up, let's not fall in the trap of
precipitation ... being head of state [is not] just administering things, [it
is] being conscious of our history."
Macron has been accused by political rivals of drawing out
the national debates and using them to improve his approval ratings.
But on Tuesday he struck a solemn tone, appealing to the
French sense of resilience and unity.
"The fire at Notre Dame reminds us that history doesn't
stop and that we always have trials to overcome. We are this nation of
builders, we have so much to rebuild," he said.
Authors:
Rym Momtaz
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