Quote: (04-17-2019 12:48 PM)debeguiled Wrote:
People keep saying we don't have the trees anymore.
Any carpenters or designers want to weigh in?
It seems like you can laminate your way to any size timber nowadays?
Can't you?
There is plenty of oak in France and elsewhere today, literally millions of mature trees. The French forest cover today is actually greater than it ever was, due to agriculture becoming more efficient, and urban migration. There aren't as many centuries-old specimens as the reforestation is a fairly modern process, but a tall, younger mature tree would do just as well.
The roof can be easily rebuilt with the same design, provided the stone structure is still solid, which it apparently is. Unlike in Dresden, the fire here probably didn't burn long/high enough to damage the sandstone walls. In Dresden, the artificially created firestorm, deliberately done by dropping large amounts of incendiary bombs in a circular pattern, burned so hot, reaching furnace-like temperatures vastly higher than open fire conditions, pulverizing the stone, causing the roof and walls to crumble (those temperatures also caused people hiding in building basements to suffocate).
Many of the timber construction techniques developed in the middle ages and applied in Notre Dame, like the seamless interweaving of large beams might be too sophisticated to be reproduced, but it doesn't mean that we couldn't rebuild the roof with a more conventional timber frame structure, a technical task well within reach today.
As I've said before, there is a large pool of talent in France that has been working on restoring the large and magnificent
patrimoine or park of landmark buildings. I think the only technology that has been lost is advanced stained glass chemistry, and a few sophisticated carpentry techniques like the one described above.
There is a great TV series on the French international network called Des Racines et des Ailes, dedicated to this
patrimoine and the people who preserve and restore it. This program is in stark contrast with the standard Year Zero pozzed fare produced on French TV. 6 years ago they had a special show on Notre Dame de Paris, highlighting the intricacies in its innards and the ongoing restoration works, here it is (autotranslate subtitles available):
There is a segment in the second part about the restoration of the timber roof in the towers, which gives you a great insight into the old structural and carpentry genius,
starting here at 27:11.
The ancient guild of carpenters is still alive, we have the manpower and craftsmen trained in the old techniques that have been maintaining the existing building park! As well France is a world leader in wood engineering (along with Scandinavia and Germany). There is no reason the roof can't be rebuilt to the historic standards, or very close to them, other than ideological driven political ill-will. And given the current leadership, that could be a challenge. My gut feeling is that Macron and co will give in, look for the Gilets Jaunes to spearhead that campaign.
There is a lot of very important historic symbology in Paris, and Notre Dame, which is built on the site of an ancient temple dedicated to the pagan cult of Isis, is at the very heart of it. My gut feeling and some details tell me that this was a deliberate destruction project by the rulers to uproot Christian dominion over the city centered at Notre Dame.
That concept drawing of a new glass pyramid spire can be seen in those lines, similar to the Louvre's 666-panneled pyramid. The original ND spire was surrounded by the Twelve Apostles, standing on guard over the City. This is what people like Macron want to destroy, in the name of "modernity". But behind this, there is a strong nefarious spiritual motive.
Once you understand the symbology, you understand their motives. I will try to cover this aspect later tonight.