I read an article about a possible approach to rebuilding Notre Dame, using 13th century techniques.
The article discussed the building of a chateau, Guédelon Castle, a few hundred kilometers south of Paris using 13th century tools and methods (and clothing, from the few photos).
The people involved in building the castle insist their approach is the best way to rebuild Notre Dame.
“The roof frame was extremely sophisticated, using techniques that were advanced for the 12th and 13th centuries,” says Frédéric Épaud, a medieval wood specialist. “After the fire, there were a lot of people saying it would take thousands of trees, and we didn’t have enough of the right ones, and the wood would have to be dried for years, and nobody even knew anything about how to produce beams like they did in the Middle Ages. They said it was impossible."
All well and good. I was hoping the article would go into specifics about the process and how and why it might be better than a modern approach, but unfortunately what we get is a few declarations of the mysticism of respecting the tree - "Stéphane Boudy, one of a small team of carpenters at the medieval site,
explains how hand-hewing each beam – a single piece from a single tree – respects the “heart” of the green wood that gives it its strength and resistance."
Maryline Martin is co-founder of the Guédelon project, and says "some people wrote us off as a theme park. Now, after 25 years, we are the only ones who can understand and are able to do what has to be done, and they discover we have not sold our soul to the devil."
These quotes show that these artisans are dedicated to their craft, if a little defensive about how outsiders might regard them. For myself, I hope there will be future articles that go into greater depth than this one, explaining the pro and cons of approaches to rebuilding the cathedral.
To put my cards out there, I cannot see how hewing beams from a single trunk would be better than building glue-lams or such. Happy to be shown otherwise!