Only one week after the tragic fire on the Notre-Dame cathedral, a series of images and proposals have started to be circulating on social media and as a separate proposals for redesigning of its spire. 

During the fire, the roof part was damaged and the cathedral's spire collapsed, then the Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced that he will launch an international competition to design a new spire for the cathedral.

Although the competition has not yet been officially announced, French architecture firm Studio NAB has envisioned a new design for the roof of the Notre-Dame cathedral by proposing a greenhouse roof to show how its roof space can be an education and socially active space "in green for all".

Studio NAB covered the roof with a burnt oak framework that embraces the reintroduction of biodiversity, education, and solidarity inside. Named the Forest, the greenhouse will be a dynamic space for all the planters and facilities as an opportunity to create a place where conservation, enrichment of an exceptional heritage and the challenges of society’s ecology and equal opportunities are all taken into account. 

View from the inside of the greenhouse and on the plantation areas, the learning space

"This is the symbol of acceptance of the course of history and the metaphorical illustration that this "forest" became burnt wood, can serve as a cradle to the new vegetation," added the architects. 

With this design scheme, the firm hopes "the design will feed the all-important conversation and add an element of reflection as to how the building could be transformed to focus on issues concerning today’s society."

The proposed design resizes the exiting roof structure and spans over the entire roof. By proposing a huge educational greenhouse, the destroyed spire is reimagined as an apiary, housing a large number of beehives and becoming the heart of the concept. 

"The greenhouse is imagined as a place to enable the professional reintegration of the poor by learning urban agriculture, horticulture and permaculture while reconnecting children to nature and educating them through workshops," said Studio NAB.

View of the new arrow spreading its apiary in the Paris sky

The architects also protect the original silhouette of the building and the different figures that inhabited it. A gold-tone steel structure and filled with glass panels mark the roof space, all respecting the initial sequencing of the roofs. 

"Like a royal crown, light and openwork, the arrow and the future cover are imagined in gold-tone steel structure and filled with glass panels, all respecting the initial sequencing of the roofs. The dozen statues of the original arrow will be relocated after their restoration, right in the greenhouse to watch over the latter."

With this proposal, the architects aims "to invigorate debate into the future restoration while also demonstrating their idea of creating a place that helps address the most pressing issues within our current world."

"To build a new cathedral anchored in its time, turned towards the future and representing the stakes of our time through some axes of reflection," they added.

Overview Notre-Dame de Paris, its arrow, its apiary and its educational greenhouse

The architects hope the proposal will enable the professional reintegration of the poor by learning urban agriculture, horticulture and permaculture through the creation of a greenhouse. "It will reconnect our children to nature and educate them through educational workshops organized within this same greenhouse."

In reference to the hives that survived the fire and in order to reintroduce "living" in Paris, we could produce the famous "nectar of the gods" in the heart of the new arrow became apiary.

Professional reintegration is envisaged thanks to the training of beekeepers able to produce tomorrow and on a large scale "the honey of Notre Dame de Paris".

 All images courtesy of Studio NAB

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