FRANCE MOVES
Emotion, gifts, then reconstruction? In the aftermath of the terrible fire that devastated Notre-Dame Cathedral on Monday evening, the amazement at such a tragedy gradually gives way to the hope of seeing the building, more than 850 years old , rebuilt in the next few years.
>> The questions that arise after the fire at Notre-Dame de Paris
But if the flames did not destroy the two belfries and the facade of the cathedral, the roof, the spire and especially the frame went to ashes. Built in oak, 110 meters long, 13 meters wide, 10 meters high and nicknamed "the forest", it will be difficult to rebuild. But France will be able to do it, assure the specialists gathered in France moves , Tuesday, devoted to this event.
"Risky job site"
In the first place, it is necessary to "secure", with "a big construction site of consolidation", with the need to "evacuate the scaffolding which is half welded above", list Julien Lecarme, carpenter and head of the institute "Carpentry and wood construction" within the Companions of Duty. "This is a site that will be a little risky on the first part because it will almost have to scaffold the scaffolding and dismantle something that burned in this state, where we are sure of anything on the structure," says the specialist.
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A major challenge, therefore, but not impossible: "The know-how exists largely (with) a real activity in heritage professions," says Julien Lecarme. It will in particular manage the supply of wood, up to "probably a thousand trees" and probably oak, according to Michel Druilhe, president of the Interprofession France Bois Forêt.
No worries about forest resources
"It's nothing for the French forest," he says, with no less than "4.5 million hectares of oak" in French forests. "This is a type of silviculture that has not continued (for several generations), but the forest resource is doing well," compliments Julien Lecarme.
But why use oak for the frame, by the way? "It's extremely solid and it's the noble woods that were used for this type of building at the time," says Julien Lecarme. "An oak reaches maturity between 100 and 150 years," says Michel Druilhe.
Before reconstruction, modeling?
In order to get a clearer view of the complex process of rebuilding the cathedral, which will take at least ten years according to Stéphane Bern, the experts will be able to count on the 3D modeling tools of the existing buildings. Including Iconem, a start-up that digitizes in 3D cultural sites in danger and will make available its technology for free to model the attics and the structure of Notre-Dame, "thanks to drones and algorithms", according to Yves Ubelmann , president-founder, also guest of France moves, Tuesday. "We will use the old documentation to reconstruct numerically", he promises for this colossal site.