EREWYN LIMRIC
NOTRE DAME RESTORATION
In the summer of 2024, Limric was one of eight U.S. student applicants selected to assist with the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral following the devastating fire of April 2019. Living in Paris for eight weeks and working with the restoration’s international team of artists and historians, Limric was immersed in French history, conducting site visits and educational excursions which culminated in a collaborative proposal for the cathedral’s final design.
Limric worked under art historian Dr. Iliana Kasarska, one of 14 specialists appointed to a team of scientists and art historians provided with special access to the cathedral. Kasarska specializes in medieval art with a focus on Gothic sculpture. Her expertise gave the group an in depth understanding of complex cathedral structures which later guided Limric’s designs for the restoration.
Limric conducted on-site research under the direction of artist Mahsa Mirhosseini, producing sketches, photos, and models to analyze the ambiance and cultural significance of Notre Dame. Their goal was to identify the essence of Paris in order to conceptualize a restoration that bridged the city’s history with its modern environment.
Throughout the eight week program, Limric was guided through French history and architecture by art historian Lindsey Hansen. With Hansen the group visited every Gothic structure in Paris, as well as other religious and historical structures. Together they travelled to neighboring French cities with architectural significance, all the while keeping in mind the question of restoration. Hansen imbued a nuanced understanding of restoration in Limric, citing Notre Dame’s previous restorer, architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, and his philosophy that the restoration of an impactful work of art or architecture should aim not to replicate the past, but to honor it when building the present.
DESIGNING A PROPOSAL
Limric collaborated with fellow interns, architecture student Josh Perron from the University of Hartford, Connecticut, and engineering student Adison Cummings from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Together they designed a restoration proposal which emphasized unity between past and present, architecture and nature, and between people. They knew that combining the skillsets of an artist, an architect, and an engineer would strengthen their designs, and only later realized that the structure of their team reflected the unified theme of their proposal.
The Garden
The team’s final proposal included Limric’s original design for a garden in front of Notre Dame. Inlayed upon the geographic center of Paris, the garden’s design mirrors the rose window on the cathedral’s facade, as if light is being projected from within. This counteracts the tradition of Gothic architecture which historically aimed to draw light inward. Limric believed the significance of Notre Dame to be its ability to bring people together and foster community. Thus her design balances out the skyward reaching spire by bringing people physically closer and into the land that supports them. The garden is the ideal place to view the spire, visually framed by the bridge’s arch, and overall recentering the entire site onto Paris’s land and community.
The Bridge and Towers
Limric’s team paid respect to the cathedral’s history by including the frontal flashings originally planned in Violett le Duc’s 19th century restoration. Between the two flashings the team also designed a bridge, symbolic of their restoration’s goal to connect past and present. The bridge allows visitors a closer view of the spire and the statue of Marianne.
The Spire
Limric’s team designed their spire to include three layers representing liberty, equality, and unity, a direct reflection of France’s national motto “Liberte, Égalité, Fraternité”. The base of the spire represents unity, as six mirrors face out towards the city, surrounded by bricks engraved with the names of every individual involved in the restoration. 12 arches comprise the second layer, equal in height but with varying depths to signify diversity within equality. Finally, a statue of Marianne, the symbol of French liberty, crowns the spire. Her figure breaks free of the surrounding structure with a raised torch, lit not by flames, but flowers which climb the spire. This crowning image commemorates the 2019 fire while refocusing the event on hope and growth.
CONSTRUCTION
It was important to Limric’s team that they construct an extensively detailed model in order to present a sufficiently comprehensive proposal. They spent two weeks cutting and constructing the model entirely by hand.
FINAL PROPOSAL