Notre-Dame is unstable and could collapse: work to strengthen the structure urgently needs to be started

Notre-Dame Cathedral is unstable and urgent work is needed to strengthen security measures, otherwise the risk is to see the building collapse. The complaint comes from Francesco Bandarin, architect and director of the UNESCO World Heritage Center from 2000 to 2010, and deputy director-general for culture at UNESCO from 2010 to 2018. In an article in The Art Newspaper, Bandarin cites a study by engineer Paolo Vannucci of the University of Versailles: the collapse of part of the vaults has drastically reduced the safety of the structure, which in the case of a Gothic cathedral does not only rest on the load-bearing walls, but also discharges its weight through columns, rampant arches and buttresses (it is, Bandarin explains, an “exoskeleton” that until before the collapse had performed its task well). Eugène Viollet-le-Duc’s flèche, although structurally independent of the roof and walls, also contributed its weight to the building’s stability.

According to engineer Vannucci’s study, Notre Dame’s walls could collapse when subjected to the pressure of wind gusts in excess of 90 kilometers per hour, whereas before the fire the cathedral could withstand even 220 kilometers per hour winds: this is not only because of the collapse of part of the “exoskeleton,” but also because the walls were weakened by the fire and the water used to put out the fire. “Reinforcing and restoring Notre-Dame’s structural system,” Bandarin points out, “should therefore be the priority in the reconstruction process, and it will certainly take longer than initially thought” (at least if the “forecasts” are the overly optimistic ones of President Emmanuel Macron, who would like to see the building intact again in five years).

The different elements of the cathedral form a unified system, and consequently separate restorations for the structure, roof and decorative elements are not possible: everything should go hand in hand. And the French government, Bandarin concludes, “should ask for an integrated project for the entire structure and make sure that the design and implementation processes are not fragmented.”

Pictured: Notre-Dame after the fire. Ph. Credit Arthur Weidmann

Notre-Dame is unstable and could collapse: work to strengthen the structure urgently needs to be started

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