Reinventing the Spire for Notre Dame
Ornamatics Elective (MArch, TU Delft)
Completeness is a finite and ideal condition. The collective memory remembers Notre Dame de Paris in this state, I have no doubt that the silhouette of Viollet-le-Duc’s spire is ingrained in the retina’s of all Parisians. The starting point to this design proposal was exactly that, the challenge from le-Duc to reinstate a condition of completeness which could never before have existed. Capturing and subsequently reinterpreting the essence of the previous spire is the underlying approach to this design.
Theological symbolism and formal transformation is paramount to the spire typology, the spire being a bridge between the city of man to the city of God. In Christianity the number eight is associated with rebirth and resurrection, it is after eight days of entering Jerusalem that Jesus resurrected. The number four and the square on the other hand is associated with earth and is consistent in many cultures. The transformation from square to octagonal based geometry as well as the striving verticality is the definitive characteristic of all spires. This design proposal meditates on geometrical transformation and the nuances between every change of cross section.
The organism of a Gothic building is in fragile equilibrium of forces. This proposal takes the structural strategy inspired by le-Duc of directing the forces straight downward not directly into the pillars but into the center of two large beams these large beams redistribute the forces more equally into at least two pillars. Additional structural members split the vertical members and make a direct connection to eight points of contact with the pillars, these members work to stiffen the connection between the vertical structure and the two long spanning beams.
The Gothic vocabulary of ornament is very developed and multi-functional, simultaneously symbolic, decorative, expressive of function or used to enhance the overall mass. A plethora of mythological and grotesque creatures line the roofs of Gothic Cathedrals, the creatures are there to ward off bad spirits or be precautionary symbols to live by God. This design proposal aims to capture these characteristics and propagate it into the fabric of the reinvented spire.
