Notre Dame Cathedral to Be Rebuilt Without Modern Touches

A worker stands on a scaffolding at Notre Dame cathedral, in Paris, France, on July 10, 2020. (Thibault Camus/AP Photo)

PARIS—Notre Dame Cathedral will be rebuilt just the way it stood before last year’s devastating fire.

No swimming pool or organic garden on the roof of the medieval Paris monument, or contemporary glass spire, or other modern twists. And to stay historically accurate, it will again be built with potentially toxic lead.

That’s the verdict reached by French President Emmanuel Macron, the cathedral’s present-day architects and the general in charge of the colossal reconstruction project for one of the world’s most treasured landmarks.

Macron, who wants Notre Dame reopened in time for the 2024 Olympics, had initially pushed for a contemporary touch atop the cathedral, prompting eye-catching proposals from architects around the world.

But Macron came around to the traditionalists’ argument, and approved reconstruction plans for the 12th century monument that were presented Thursday, according to a statement from the state agency overseeing the project.

Smoke billows as flames burn through the roof of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral in the French capital of Paris, on April 15, 2019. (Fabien Barrau/AFP/Getty Images)

The plan includes recreating the 19th century spire designed by architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc that collapsed in the fire and “favors fidelity to the monument’s form and a restoration of the cathedral in its latest state,” the statement said.

That means how Notre Dame was on the afternoon of April 15, 2019, before the fire broke out, consumed the roof, and threatened the rose-windowed twin towers that keep the cathedral upright.

A scaffold is seen during the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, in Paris, France, on March 27, 2019. (Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images)

More than a year later, the structure remains unstable. It took nearly a year to clear out dangerous lead residue released in the fire and to get to the point where workers could start removing scaffolding that had been in place for a previous renovation effort. Actual reconstruction won’t start until next year.

The reconstruction plan presented Thursday says the project will replicate original materials “to guarantee the authenticity, harmony, and coherence of this masterpiece of Gothic art.”

Those materials included tons of lead, which is raising concerns among health and environmental groups. Lead particles released during the fire forced schools in the area to close and prompted a lengthy, painstaking cleanup effort of the cathedral’s historic neighborhood on an island in the center of Paris.