Wow!

I recently came across Vincent Callebaut ’s proposal for rebuilding Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. I had never visited the original, though we studied it intensely in architecture school. The church’s architectural history and impact on what I do for a living is priceless. After seeing the renderings produced by Callebaut’s firm , it became extremely apparent to me what this world needs right now. It needs more Vincent Callebauts. His brave and extremely risky design responds to both the need to rebuild a piece of long standing, passionate history and an acknowledgment that the world is changing. Religion is changing. The environment is changing. People are changing. His design addresses all those issues in one sweeping stroke of a pencil, or computer generated vector line, whatever worked in his office. His design reflects Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris ’ nod to its religious architecture, while challenging historical norms and an inherent acceptance of what “has always been right.” He turns design on its head to reinvent what Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris ’ architecture has kept tried and true throughout the years. By incorporating into the design a garden for homeless people to care for and an all glass ceiling to connect to the environment, he still respects the church’s shape and form in a brilliant manner. We right now do not need to start over in this world, as some may believe. We cannot go backward as some may wish. We need to take a look inside ourselves, be honest about our history, be brave about our future and be true to our soul. I can only hope that the powers that be select Callebaut’s design. It is truly spectacular.