9 ridiculous projects proposed by architects for the restoration of Notre Dame

Despite the fact that more than a month has passed since Notre Dame swept the fire, the passions around the religious building have not subsided. Moreover, a few days after the tragedy, the French authorities announced their intention to organize a competition for the best roof and spire design for the cathedral. The head of the cabinet, Edouard Philippe, noted that the new version of the roof should be adapted to the challenges of our era and created according to the most advanced technologies. Since then, many people, from architects to graphic designers and even occasional caring web users, began to offer their ideas on how to modernize Notre Dame Cathedral.

However, most experts are critical of giving Notre Dame a more modernist character. They believe that trying to replace something so timeless and incomparable with modern architecture is completely useless and unreasonable. Meanwhile, more and more absolutely ridiculous reconstruction projects of the most amazing example of Gothic architecture appear on the Internet, from which the hair of real esthetes and connoisseurs of cultural heritage starts to move. And we represent the nine most outrageous of them.

Swimming pool

The creators of this project believe that the spire is now receiving undeservedly much attention, given that this is a relatively recent addition to the cathedral, built only in the 19th century. They say that since Notre Dame is at the epicenter of Paris - the world capital of culture, romance and enjoyment of life, the best solution for reconstruction is a certain meditative space with a huge swimming pool.

Dome

Graphic designer Juan Francisco Ronda sees the cathedral surrounded by a glass dome. He says that this design will symbolize peace and tranquility for the whole world. The dome should be supported by a column protruding directly from the center of Notre Dame.

Parking

The Minister of Mobility and Public Infrastructure of one of the Belgian regions, Pascal Smet, believes that the restoration of the roof of Notre Dame should be pragmatic. In response to the rhetoric about the traffic of the French Reform Party, Estimates published a version of the project with parking in its social networks.

Mcdonald's

Of course, this idea for reconstruction is not considered seriously, and it appeared on the Internet thanks to the efforts of one of the users. But still, it serves as a vivid social commentary and can become a popular meme. It is called an eloquent indicator of the overwhelming influence of capitalism.

Penthouse Quasimodo

The tragedy that happened in mid-April of this year deprived the most famous ringer in history, the hunchback from Notre Dame. The attic of the cathedral turned into a pile of ash, and it was here that Quasimodo "lived" for six hundred years. The fate of the ringer was worried about the Who Cares?! Architectural bureau, famous for its non-conformist approach. Employees of the company created an unusual project of a modern spacious penthouse for Quasimodo. The luxurious hunchback apartments include two gigantic patios, a helicopter landing pad, a spa complex, a swimming pool and two gardens, from which simply breathtaking views of beautiful Paris can be enjoyed.

Golden spire

A designer, whose name is not called, proposed to make for the cathedral a new spire of gold in the form of ... a blazing flame. Apparently, a person has a heightened sense of black humor.

Circus Notre Dame

This project, which also appeared on the network shortly after the announcement of the competition of ideas, became one of the most popular. It involves placing a circus tent on the roof of the legendary cathedral. And, of course, is also not taken seriously. The image is clearly ironic, referring us to the idea that we all live in a huge circus.

Notre Dame in the style of Louis Vuitton

Immediately after the fire, group giant Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton donated colossal money to transform one of the main Parisian symbols. The amount of the donation was 200 million euros. This gesture impressed the director of Entrequadra Novas Mídias in Brazil so much that he decided to imagine what Notre Dame would look like if it were reconstructed in honor of a virtuous company. The iconic Louis Vuitton print extends across the roof of the cathedral, and the golden initials of the luxury brand shine above the stained glass window.

Abstract steeple

This ridiculous spire project was uploaded to the web with the hashtag #buildthesame. It was created in order to criticize all the proposals for updating the architecture of Notre Dame Cathedral and to show how inappropriate and stupid any changes made to the classical style of construction will look.