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.
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.
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.
France’s Notre Dame Cathedral to be rebuilt without modern touches
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France’s Notre Dame Cathedral to be rebuilt without modern touches
- Plan includes recreating the 19th century spire designed by architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc
Dutch couple’s marriage annulled due to ChatGPT speech
- The pair said “I do” and the officiant declared them “not only husband and wife, but above all a team”
- The judge found that they had not actually sworn to fulfil their marriage duties
AMSTERDAM: A Dutch couple had their marriage annulled after the person officiating used a ChatGPT-generated speech that was intended to be playful but failed to meet legal requirements, according to a court ruling published this week.
The pair from the city of Zwolle, whose names were redacted from the January 5 decision under Dutch privacy rules, argued that they had intended to marry regardless of whether the right wording was used when they took their vows.
According to the decision, the person officiating their ceremony last April 19 asked whether they would “continue supporting each other, teasing each other and embracing each other, even when life gets difficult.”
The pair said “I do” and the officiant declared them “not only husband and wife, but above all a team, a crazy couple, each other’s love and home base.”
But the judge found that they had not actually sworn to fulfil their marriage duties — something that is required under Dutch law.
“The court understands that the date in the marriage deed is important to the man and woman, but cannot ignore what the law says.” It ordered the marriage removed from the Zwolle city registry.
