Preservation & Reconstruction - Notre Dame

Notre Dame in Paris was engulfed by fire in Paris this week. On the same night the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem was ablaze. Both iconic & ancient religious buildings. Over the years there have been similar buildings catastrophically damaged by fire - Windsor Castle,Glasgow School of Art,York Minster & many churches in the UK,the National Trust's Clandon Park....It's a long list.

Already 800 million euros has been pledged by outrageously profitable French companies like Gucci & LVMH (Dior, Louis Vuitton, Moet / Hennessy). The money continues to come in - there is a website where you too can donate.

These buildings are old, unique, built by skilled craftsmen, architecturally & culturally significant. The question is "what is appropriate to do to restore them"? How much time, effort & money should be spent on the restoration? They have all been altered according to different styles & fashions over time, so what is original & worth preserving?

Such large sums of money can be used in many ways. How do we prioritise what it is appropriate to spend that money on? Is restoring a building top of the list? If so - why?

Should we seriously consider the alternatives? Everything has a lifespan. Everything is born, has a life, fades & dies. That is the natural order. Why should buildings be any different? When a building either reaches the end of it's life or is destroyed in some way, what is the best way forward?

Dresden is an example.
https://mashable.com/2017/01/28/rebuilding-dresden/?europe=true
Most was not restored. The Frauenkirche remained untouched as a symbol of the futility of war & a memorial to those who died in the bombing.

I seriously question spending vast sums of money on re-constructing / restoring any building which has been badly damaged by fire, storm, war or anything. Yes, make it safe & preserve what can be preserved. Coventry Cathedral was not rebuilt. Instead they left it as a memorial to war & built a new one next to it.

 

The symbolism of a new church, which is of it's time, rising from the ashes makes sense to me. Recreating a modern facsimile of an old building at great cost doesn't. However well done, it's fake.

I hope the French think very carefully about the way forward for Notre Dame. There is great unrest in France & all over the world about poverty, lack of opportunity, good education & healthcare, climate change. A great many people are disadvantaged & worse. They may feel that 800 million euros could be better spent.