The $1BN Race to Save Notre Dame From Collapse

[@TheB1M]

Head to brilliant.org/TheB1M/ for a 30-day free trial + the first 200 people will receive 20% off their annual subscription 🙌

[@jmrzzzz]

hi

[@squa_81]

Fun thing about the french outside of Paris: They know other monuments are also at high risk, for example, the castle of Chenonceau is at risk since the bridge it was built upon was never means to the see the river underneath go beneath a certain level. However that is happening more and more, and risks compromising the foundation of the castle. The issue is so important that they ended up completely barring the flow of water a bit further downstream, leading the Cher (name of the river) going dry in Tours (city in the castle valley)

[@Tod_oMal]

I remember the day as if it was yesterday. Pure horror.

[@Entasis5555]

Victor Hugo, the guy who described gargoil's for 20 pages. That s a chapter in your metrics

[@Angry-PM]

did you also start using a clickbait image in the thumbnails? There is an arrow to a crane and text "nearly collapse" which is absent in the video

[@Valecto]

Interesting fact: some of the craftspeople who work on the restauration of Notre Dame learned how to use medieval building techniques by working at Guedelon Castle in Burgundy. Guedelon is an archeological experiment meant to try and recreate a 13th century castle only by using tools and technologies that were available at that time. As it turned out, these people's unique first-hand experience has become immensely useful in rebuilding the cathedral... almost a small miracle.

[@CitronCassis]

Yes Guedelon is super interesting !

[@Pouncer9000]

Yes, notably using green wood for carpentry

[@laughingoutloud5742]

Another excellent video - thanks!

[@MiroslavDrahos]

yes, I was in Guedelon sometime around 2005, I was a teenager ant it absolutely amazed me. All those crafts that are close to extinction these days, coming back to life and being crucial for the contruction again. It would be really hard to find enough of these anachronic workers for such a big project otherwise.

[@_aullik]

I'm a bit disappointment he didn't talk about that.

[@Blckjack18]

When they said: „It will be ready in 2024 for the Olympics“ I thought, that it would take until 2030. But 4 months overrun on a project with an unknown scope is insanely good.

[@JohnDoe-tv4zf]

“Unknown scope”

[@testman9541]

​@@JohnDoe-tv4zfIndded 🎉

[@Jimmy_Jones]

If it was the UK, then it would probably take until 2027 to get partly done and then get cancelled and a rush job done on it in the last few months.

[@thomasallen6980]

I think they did a great job. I was sure the building would be piled up as rubble. Hard to believe actually.

[@_aullik]

@@JohnDoe-tv4zf not sure what you mean by your quotations but "rebuilding notre dame" is not a scope. In the beginning they had ideas how hard could be but that was more of a guestimate than a plan.

[@Dept_Of_Ducks]

This reconstruction is a testament to how lucky we are to still have craftspeople who can create and repair such work!

[@NankitaBR]

It's thanks to experimental archeologists that we have access to this crafts, because a lot of them were already lost and they discovered and reacreted this crafts that were already lost based on the extant tools, the very few extant texts and the buildings themselves.

[@Deepthought-42]

The reconstruction enabled a lot of those skills to be rediscovered and developed.

[@jeffspaulding9834]

Europe has tons of buildings that are hundreds of years old, and they need updating and maintenance. The skills and knowledge haven't been lost - changed and modernized, yes, but not lost. I highly recommend checking out the videos made by Matthias Burger. He's got a whole series where he restores a 14th century house in Germany, as well as various other videos on related topics. He's even got a video on Notre Dame's roof.

[@SmithCommaBenjamin]

F*ck that! They'd rather spend $billions on a building than actually use for people in need. Disgusting

[@thechamp8162]

And silly for dropping stupid amounts of money into this 😂

[@matteo8410]

10:49 is missleading. 4 windows from Notre Dame were restored and repaired in Cologne by Staff from the Cathetral but no windows were "donated"

[@cloverhighfive]

yeah I thought that didn't make sense lol - now it does :)

[@TheEret]

I was thinking "didn't they say Notre Dame would be ready for the Olympics?" And now I know the reason. Another great video!

[@jmrzzzz]

yea

[@eugene4950]

@@focoagrotech good thing they didn't , why would you want to associate Notre Dame with that shit show called latest Olympics in France

[@PenskePC17]

If they want to do it right I imagine they would basically need to search the planet for craftsman able to do a lot of the intricate work. Besides, do you you really want it done just in time for the quad yearly American domination? 😂

[@CheeseMiser]

​@focoagrotech shut up

[@MrZilbon]

@@eugene4950 why shit show ? seems to be going fine

[@connormaze2605]

My dad tends to not care much for old historical places, however, He always tells me Notre Dame is the most beautiful building he's ever seen and one of the only places he wants to go and revisit, and I told him the news about it planning to reopen in December and already he's decided we're going back to Paris on holiday next year

[@glorygracek.1841]

Better make it a couple how busy that place will be

[@write-only]

​@@glorygracek.1841 there will be a prayer fan zone outside.

[@garyjarvis2730]

This is more than a cathedral. It is a monument to the enduring nature of man and his creativity. It's loss would have been an unbearable scar on the history of civilization. Thanks to all the craftsmen who brought her back to life.

[@ImminentDebacle]

I'm not Catholic, nor French, nor have I ever read the book, but I think it's really mega to see this iconic building rebuilt to it's former glory. Stuff like this gives me some faith in humanity.

[@thecolourwhiteproductions3391]

Billions spent on the restoration of a religious structure while the people deal with austerity, cost of living crisis and poverty?

[@Theo_Aubusson]

​@thecolourwhiteproductions3391 Most French people are okay with the money being spent to rebuilt this Cathedral, because it's one of France most iconic landmark

[@dimitar297]

They pay for it quietly with inflation and devaluation.

[@MtJochem]

@@Theo_Aubusson The controversies that came with the speed and amount of pledged donations by France's millionaires suggests otherwise.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

Not religious, British and I was devastated. Felt like my heart was stopping

[@TrevelyanOO6]

I’d happily watch a longer more in depth look at this restoration.

[@NouriaDiallo]

There's a channel dedicated to it "Rebâtir Notre-Dame de Paris".

[@djc1013]

Agreed! This could be hours long. Fantastic video as always from The B1M!

[@CitronCassis]

If you speak French or German, ARTE channel produced a 3 episodes of 50 min (available on KZbin.) there are subtitles in English. Maybe the best I’ve seen yet. A lot of good shorter videos as well : - short videos by TF1 Info are very nice (French but easy with subtitles) - France 24 has 1 video per year : available in Spanish, English, French.

[@mountainjeff]

I saw a documentary where they showed how they set up all the lasers and did the 3D mapping of the whole place. It might have even been on Fred's channel. (?) There are a lot of shows about the work going on there. (In French)

[@lonesome3958]

​@@CitronCassisthank you so much!

[@The_D0RK_KNIGHT]

No building may be eternal... but man do many iconic structures throughout history outlast numerous human lifetimes

[@TheB1M]

It’s incredible right. Do we still build like that today…?

[@kizumimikoto4617]

They not only last longer they also last with style.

[@The_D0RK_KNIGHT]

@@kizumimikoto4617 agreed they become "Timeless"

[@Chaotic_Pixie]

@@TheB1MIf only we did. It’s truly disappointing to see the plethora of hardy board invading even the most iconic of ancient cities.

[@HeliosExeunt]

@@TheB1M Maybe we do, but none of us will live long enough to find out. 😅

[@thx1138tab]

Lead decontamination (dust) was a huge part at the beginning as well for safety of workers.

[@user-aero68]

they had to dismantle all 8000+ pieces of the organ and clean and repair each piece individually before putting it back together. Apparently the tubes were full of lead dust

[@avroarchitect1793]

@@user-aero68 I would love to hear it play. If they cleaned it out then it will sound like it did when it was new now. Thats a treat noone has heard in centuries.

[@LucarioBoricua]

A lot of people don't really know why the lead pollution is of such enormous scale. Turns out the roofing material used for the cathedral is made of lead metal sheets. At the time, the metal's softness and high density was really helpful in forming a watertight cover that could be easily fastened to the structure. Bad news is that it takes an awful lot of material to cover a roof this big.

[@carolome]

IT WAS FIVE WHOLE YEARS AGO?! Jokes aside, I always love watching these videos, they are on par with TV documentaries! Way to go, TheB1M ❤

[@theswenglishgam3r808]

5 years is not 2019 because 2020 and 2021 never happened

[@TheSterlingArcher16]

That’s what I was thinking? I was like I’m pretty sure this happened no more than two years ago?!

[@blitzkrieg1941]

​@@TheSterlingArcher16 Same wtf

[@blitzkrieg1941]

​@@TheSterlingArcher16 The crazy thing is that this whole shift started in 2016 at the Cincinnati zoo

[@Neuvalence]

@@theswenglishgam3r808 this decade is somehow moving faster than my childhood

[@Mark-om3cl]

That scaffolding is a piece of artwork in itself. Jeez.

[@batterysurf]

Assassin's creed Unity patched the Notre Dame day one

[@CheeseMiser]

Shut

[@C.I...]

They patched the game to not run at all on my computer!

[@TylerR909]

Ironically they took such detailed brick-by-brick scans of the building for that game, that data was used to help in the restoration, including some of the artwork.

[@almamater9566]

​@@TylerR909no it was not. This has been debunked multiple times. Even the historians who worked for Ubisoft Saïd using their data for the reconstruction would be nonsensical and delusional

[@manuelka15]

@@almamater9566 I didn't know it was fake xO

[@kn4cc755]

I am not French, not Catholic or even Christian but I do see this building as a link to history of a time when many people found cause to contribute their treasure, skills and hopes to see something beautiful rise toward the heavens. Generations of people contributed to constructing this edifice and it is a world heritage jewel. That it was able to be restored so many years later is marvelous. Again, many people came together to accomplish the task. Again, great expenditure of treasure and skill were required. I was happy to be a tiny part of those contributing. Call it civilization dues.

[@thomasfholland]

Thank you Fred and your team for making this video. I’ve visited Notre Dame many times since my sister lives just a few minutes walk away from it. I still remember how heart wrenching it was watching the livestream of it burning and seeing live as it’s spire crashed down. I am relieved to see that its restoration is nearing completion. Again thank you for making this.

[@andrewclarkehomeimprovement]

Fred. How many buildings have burnt while being renovated? Notre Dame de Paris, Windsor castle, The Glasgow School of Art, Denmark's stock exchange, Etc etc How? Why? What lessons have NOT been learned? New topic for you there!

[@retrodude123]

Not at the same scale but the Bank Buildings in Belfast burned down during renovation as well

[@hylje]

Boring answer: Construction work often involves materials, fire and chemical reactions that can go out of control. Sprinklers and other fire control systems in completed buildings are not necessarily fully functional (yet) on the job site.

[@catsandcrafts171]

York Minster, I think.

[@Cloxxki]

How many of those, there were peopel like Michelle Obama present nipping a red wine?

[@shugthehornyhaggis]

School of art twice, it was in the middle of getting rebuilt after a fire before going in fire again

[@victoriabarclay3556]

this is a great recap. I've seen many videos on the continuing work, and this is well done. thank you! look forward to more!

[@malavoy1]

No building is eternal. Great Pyramid at Giza: Hold my thick chunky beer.

[@SunnyMandalsunnymandal0]

that too will not remain , maybe it will take 2000 or 10000 years more !! but the points remains ! nothing is eternal , everything goes in a cycle .

[@malavoy1]

@@SunnyMandalsunnymandal0 True, but being made of stone, probably closer to 100,000 to a million years. We'll most likely be gone, so it might as well be eternal from our point of view. ☺

[@Zantides]

It has alleready been suggested demolished for reuse multiple times through history. So never say never.

[@richardmillhousenixon]

I mean compared to what it originally was, it has deteriorated A LOT. And to be fair, there isn't many failure modes for a big ass pile of rocks.

[@rodneystevens8325]

Wait for a fire to burn inside the pyramid! People will believe it was possible.

[@tonyburzio4107]

The most important point to learn is, a night fire watchman is a LOT cheaper than rebuilding.

[@Crabman_87]

Did they ever announce the exact cause?

[@Hermes4ndMind]

​@@Crabman_87IIRC it was an unfortunate spark from a maintenance electrical installation, under the roof's wooden frame.

[@freja9398]

These days everything in our society is all about being as cheap as possible. Late stage capitalism, really sad.

[@instantsus_]

@@freja9398what a pointless comment.

[@freja9398]

​@@instantsus_ How is it a pointless comment?

[@JanBruunAndersen]

Earlier this year, in April I think, the old stock exchange in Copenhagen, dating back to the 17th century, was also consumed by fire. And like Notre Dame the building was also undergoing restoration and maintenance at that time of the fire. Much of the irreplaceable art work was saved, and the building will be restored in the coming years.

[@dontlaughtoomuch11]

I don't even wantto know how much tax money wouldbe wasted for such a useless project... Denmark should invest more in affordable energy prices for its citizens... That and food inflation and horrible housing prices...

[@JanBruunAndersen]

@@dontlaughtoomuch11 - Tax money? It was a privately owned building so the insurance companies (yes, there were 3) will pay. Affordable energy prices? Energy prices are exactly where they need to be to wean Denmark of imported fossil fuels and instead become independent using renewable energy. Food inflation? Just like I did when I was a poor student, people should learn to eat more oatmeal, makrel in tomatosauce, and dark rye bread. Such a diet is good for the soul and the wallet. Housing prices? People just need to scale down. I live in a single rented room with around 16 square meters. Very affordable.

[@dontlaughtoomuch11]

@@JanBruunAndersen ". I live in a single rented room with around 16 square meters. Very affordable." ====> Omg, enough said!

[@JanBruunAndersen]

@@dontlaughtoomuch11 - I don't know if enough is said. I could have mentioned that the balance on my bank account looks like your phone number.

[@dontlaughtoomuch11]

@@JanBruunAndersen I pity the life of an average Dane tbh! Having seen it myself! Ugh!

[@COMEINTOMYWORLD]

Great video! I would love a Christmas special on Winchester Cathedral. This masterpiece was falling apart with massive cracks due to the high water table making the structure unstable in the early 1900s. A deep sea diver called William Walker spend 5 years underground in the pitch black totally submerged laying cement bags and bricks. What a true hero! Even today, although Walker saved the structure, the crypt still floods with crystal clear water and any overly curious visitor will find themselves with wet feet...

[@kbpeters4246]

WOW! That's incredible. Sounds dangerous. Are there any KZbin videos on the subject that you would recommend?

[@COMEINTOMYWORLD]

@@kbpeters4246 I hvaen't come across any. In the city of Winchester itself there is a pub named after him, a statue near the cathedral, and inside the cathedral there is a display. When Walker retrieved the ancient wood logs used originally in the foundations they were dried out and a local craftsman carved pocket sized trinkets and these were sold outside Winchester Cathedral!

[@kbpeters4246]

@@COMEINTOMYWORLD thank you for the info!

[@samalvey8168]

Like the phoenix, she will rise from the ashes and once again stand tall and proud as the Lady of Paris. She is so ancient, wondrous and respected that she transcends religious, political and national barriers, important to Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

[@PROVOCATEURSK]

Why are you lying? Majority of the world doesn´t care about buildings dedicated to the creator of hell.

[@paullewis2413]

@@PROVOCATEURSK Your answer clearly demonstrates that you have difficulty in comprehending what was written.

[@seriouscat2231]

@@PROVOCATEURSK, I seriously doubt that's their real reason. Also, since God is all-good, the rejection of God, which becomes permanent at death, indicates the person's eternal and immutable desire for the opposite. In Catholic theology, the damned agree and can't argue with their fate.

[@samponette3306]

@@seriouscat2231😂😂😂😂

[@seriouscat2231]

@@samponette3306, I'm shattered by the force of your argument. But the thing atheists often get wrong regarding God's goodness is that they have no idea what good means, and think that it's the same as subjectively pleasing. In other words, if God was good, everyone would always be happy and feel good constantly. But that's far from the real definition of good.

[@randybutler4772]

Extremely interesting explanation of reconstruction and restoration. Thank you for sharing.🇺🇸

[@THEDARKILLERS46]

The carpenters had to go to a spectacular site in france, Guedelon, a castle being built with original tools and methods singe 1997, to learn how to do it the right way, it's a knowledge mostly lost to time and I'm glad it found a use

[@RobertFletcherOBE]

1997? I was doing carpentry back then. I could have shown them.

[@THEDARKILLERS46]

@@RobertFletcherOBE go look it up, there's a great video on KZbin in English, it's medieval carpentry, and also medieval machinery, people breaking boulders with their muscle power and strategic weakpoint analysis. Groundbreaking stuff if you think about it, i think we should learn back these skills as a society

[@almamater9566]

​@@RobertFletcherOBEdo you use medieval traditional craftmanship using medieval tools ?? I don't think so 🤡

[@AmirPounding]

@@RobertFletcherOBE You did not understand, the castle has been built since 1997, we don't know when will it be ready, but take into account that Notre Dame took 200 years to built, Sagrada Familia took (and is taking) more of 150 years, Cologne took 250 years, so yeah, it will be a long time

[@rickkuny6591]

I would love to see a longer deeper dive into this reconstruction project. It’s certainly worth more time thanks

[@piraterubberduck6056]

I was studying architectural design and technology when the fire happened and was on a placement at an architectural studio in Manchester. The fire was a sad event, but the interest and love from the construction industry was amazing to see. It would be great to have a much longer video about this construction project when the work is closer to being finished. A bit of a dive into the technology used would be good too. There is so much to this project that it could make a great collab series with some other KZbinrs, or just get guest speakers in on it.

[@kathym6603]

This is a pretty good video: Rebuilding Notre Dame - 2. The Next Chapter (BBC)

[@CitronCassis]

There is a série of 3 episodes by ARTE in French or in German. (There are subtitles in English I think). They are the best I’ve seen. Well ARTE always has quality stuff.

[@PawesomeCatVideo]

I am a grown man...but i literally burst into tears that morning I heard the news. I did not realize just how much that building means to me.

[@sasnad3]

We need more people like you.

[@lammy12ninja]

Notre dame +10 happiness

[@mrbbqcraig]

Never in my wild imagination would I have thought of shedding a tear over a construction video ‼️🫣 Beautifully presented Fred... cheers to you 🤟🎶

[@rotors_taker_0h]

So, the original construction took couple centuries and reconstruction from the ashes took ~5 years and some people still complain that we don't build as we used to. Duh, we are doing it much better now.

[@rotors_taker_0h]

@@insertyoutubeusernames most of the buildings that "last forever" were repaired and rebuilt many many times during their lifetime and we don't see what was done before us the same way we won't see building standing (of falling) after us. As for wood we have many more ways to treat it: you can microwave dry it to precise humidity, you can pressure harden it to desired spec, you can epoxy cure it, you know exact ways to protect it against elements, etc.

[@rotors_taker_0h]

​@@insertyoutubeusernames sorry bro, you can't convince me to pay for over-building useless megalithic structure to praise non-existent gods that will be all but forgotten just for a second of distracted delight of some bored tourist 10000 years into the future. Maya and all others were able to coerce their population to do just that and I'm glad we done with these practices. We engineer our structures with predictable lifetime and we usually want things to last as much as we want and it usually isn't forever. I don't think my grand-grand-grand-grandson 200 years later would appreciate me spending a lifetime earnings on building two meter thick stone house just to impress his grand-grand-grand children when he will already have some unimaginable atomic building tech that makes precise 3D nanotube-reinforced graphene-diamond composite buildings on the Jupiter orbit using fusion-powered autonomous construction robots.

[@KDeds21]

To be fair, we dont. Obviously we can, but our society for the past 80 years or so has prioritized function over form to a disgusting degree. Also note that repairs, and reconstructing the roof and spire is not a fair comparison to the construction of the entire building.

[@G_de_Coligny]

You have the comprehension skills of a goldifsh who spent the last month out of the water… The roof in hardwood and modern spire were lost, not the brickwork.

[@rotors_taker_0h]

@@G_de_Coligny so, you would argue that in the modern world we would spend five more centuries to relay the brickwork? Have you seen other videos on that channel?

[@poolschool5587]

Great video. Thanks!

[@JerseyLynne]

That was really good. Thank you.

[@TheB1M]

You’re welcome! Thanks so much for watching!

[@christian-michaelhansen471]

The complexity of the rebuilding is mind-boggling! I am so proud of the people who donated their money, their time, and their resources. Restoration of the stained glass, made a bit simpler with the Cologne Cathedral’s donation of four windows, will be another massive undertaking. Depending on how hot the fire was in areas would have melted the lead that is used in the creation of these stunning windows. Imagine the steps required to find and repair the areas of weakness. God bless the artisans who are using their skills to recreate the gargoyles and statues, the roof truss system that holds the stone groin vaults, the windows, just to name a few. God Bless everyone who has contributed to this legendary project.

[@jamesfarrell8339]

Fascinating video I really enjoyed it Thanks for posting

[@TheRandallraplee]

Fantastic! One of your best videos. I haven’t seen any other KZbin channels covering the progress either inside or out, much less the process to bring the project back to life. Thank you!

[@HeresTheGenZFlorentineFolks.]

I’m so proud that a Florentine man was heading the rebuilding project… he is Carlo Blasi, Florentine like me.

[@InXLsisDeo]

Nice ! It's a project of a lifetime.

[@chrismorris1304]

I remember crying when this was all over the news. It's such a beautiful work of art and engineering. Very interesting that the Koln cathedral donated some of the glass. I remember visiting Koln back in '99 and wow it was breath-taking.

[@jensschroder8214]

Oak trees were sought and felled all over Europe for the roof structure. It was difficult to even find trees old enough and thick enough. Trees in Europe are usually felled earlier and processed into wood. But the ordinary wood was too small for the task.

[@sparksmcgee6641]

Look up the Aurbor Society. It was easy to find the trees but still a process to decide on which were best to use. The French have been farming trees for government use for over 200 years. They had plenty to do the job.

[@TB.D]

All the tree come from France... 2000 Oak ,50% from public forest and the other 50% from private forest.

[@BuenaSalud1337]

Such creative videos you’ve on this channel. Just subscribed!

[@StephaneDeschenesCanada]

Excellent video summarizing the history and recent reconstruction. But FYI there’s a typo: it’s “Viollet-le-Duc” (you missed the ‘o’)

[@DiabloOutdoors]

I fast forward 90% of the videos I'm watching in KZbin, but not on this channel. Your productions are amazing and we always learn something new. The content is very good, the narration top notch and the editing Pro Master level. Kudos to all the team! Thank you for making such good and entertaining videos.

[@TheRedfull]

Could you make a video about the work they did on Le Grand Palais as well? It's mind-blowing!

[@TheB1M]

Yes definitely. We have featured it across our social media accounts. Incredible project.

[@katherinec2759]

"Victor Hugo dedicated a whole two chapters to describing this masterpiece." Having just finished reading it, he dedicated two chapters to it, but he was CONSTANTLY making asides and digressions about it, and talked about it more in the postscript.

[@theflatearthsociety]

B1M is great!

[@TheB1M]

✊️✊️✊️

[@DaveTexas]

We were there in 2016. We visited Notre Dame and spent an entire afternoon inside and around the cathedral studying and admiring the architecture. It is truly a gorgeous structure. A monument to the men who understood the science and mathematics needed to design and construct it. Seeing it rebuilt using the same techniques and architecture that the original builders used is very inspiring.

[@tpop3723]

Thank you to all who helped restore this masterpiece for generations to come.

[@TheB1M]

Hear, hear!! ✊️✊️✊️

[@Elucidator-]

Indeed, instead of tainting it with modernist influences.

[@ericvanvlandren8987]

Another fantastic video - you guys are really top notch. Well done.

[@TheB1M]

Thank you so much!

[@QwertiusMaximus]

Church on fire? Holy smoke!

[@misterniceguy67]

Buildings don't do much for god, instead the kings used these structures to glorify themselves. Nothing holy about it.

[@bimblinghill]

I feel so emotional seeing the Parisians holding hands and singing as their cathedral burned. What an amazing achievement to fix so much of the damage in such a short time.

[@Hakaze]

Thank heavens that they went with the classic style. Some of the modern sugestions would have ruined the whole building

[@captiannemo1587]

The central spire was already modern. Wish it had been left off.

[@inksday]

@@captiannemo1587 It was built in the 13th century. so "modern".

[@KragV]

I have to disagree, the cathedral already went through many changes in the past so it would've made complete sense to perpetuate this tradition.

[@hailexiao2770]

@@inksday It was a 19th century addition. So yes, very modern.

[@inksday]

@@hailexiao2770 13th* 1230 to be specific.

[@twingo7]

Man oh man!…Kudos to you; B1M, your stuff is world class!!

[@TheB1M]

Thank you so much! ✊️

[@Thepriest39]

My wife and I were incredibly lucky to get to visit this twice before it caught fire.

[@svenlima]

The French - German channel "ARTE" published a 3-part documentary about the reconstruction of Notre-Dame. It is also fantastic. Maybe there are English subtitles (?).

[@ABP8214]

You're missing a key important fact. When the decision was made to rebuilt Norte Damn back to its original form, the architects & builders didn't have the blueprints to do it. Ubisoft, the French video game company, offered up the 3D scan that they had from Assassin's Creed Unity, a game that takes place during the French Revolution. The 3d scab were pretty much identical to what the church had looked like, so the builders were able to use those plans to rebuilt the structure.

[@MikeAG333]

Firstly, no-one uses blueprints. Secondly, they had a very modern and recent set of drawings of the roof structure, which was the only part of the building of any complexity. And the stuff about Assassins Creed is a massive exaggeration (in fact, it's nonsense). Their 3D model wasn't accurate, and there were gaming rights and copyright issues preventing its use.

[@revemb4653]

@@MikeAG333 wasnt accurate? Ubisoft literally scanned the building it is more than accurate enough

[@MikeAG333]

@@revemb4653 I'm an architect. I read the architectural press. There are a number of architectural publications still available online confirming what I said.

[@richardmillhousenixon]

​@@MikeAG333 The model in the game wasn't perfect, but Ubisoft probably still had the raw 3D file, which would have been very accurate.

[@richardmillhousenixon]

​@@MikeAG333Also, the raw 3D file would be unaffected by the rights and ownership restrictions of the game file.

[@Gryphonisle]

One of your most interesting and informative videos (and without the ominous music favored by so many other YT sites!!!).

[@Tantale]

4:40 It's written "Viollet-le-Duc", not Villet :)

[@claude_k]

The facade and plan displayed at the 2:55 mark are from the Beauvais Cathedral in France, a never-completed cathedral (1 hour north of Paris) that once had a spire that was the highest building in the world at the time of construction.

[@danmur15]

I was able to see Notre Dame a few weeks before it burned, and there was a group from my highschool on a trip to Paris who were able to watch it burn while they were walking to it to get a tour. Hope to go see it when the construction is finished

[@CosmicTeapot]

I'm amazed by how easily undocumented craftsmanship from the past can be lost forever... and I am simultaneously amazed by how that will probably never be a problem again seeing as pretty much everything now gets catalogued and backed up on the internet.

[@TheMetalfreak360]

If they turned it into a freaking swimming pool, I would curse the French for the rest of my lifetime. These monuments are not some next grand project that architects should try some modern-niche thing they have thought up, they should strive to be as close to the original as possible imho. Anything else is a disservice not only to the building itself, but the people before that worked on the building.

[@Jedi.Toby.M]

Fantastic episode!!! This is why i LOVE the B1M!

[@pascal9055]

"The love of the French people..." and people from abroad who contributed? Especially in the early days when the French billionaires were still promising in the currency of air, rather than actual money.

[@pcost]

Exactly my thoughts!! The love of people all over the world!!!

[@mehVhem]

ngl the melted scaffolding looks really beautiful. would be a super interesting and unique sculptural piece

[@jsnap1]

It's amazing the amount of work going into a building that's many times older than my country (Australia)

[@MikeAG333]

No, it's not older. Australia has been inhabited for between 40,000 years and 70,000 years. It's obviously older than the name "Australia", but the country and it's inhabitants have been there many times longer than Notre Dame has existed.

[@jsnap1]

@@MikeAG333 lol I was wondering how long it would take someone to point that out. 👏😅

[@kaledvoulch]

@@MikeAG333 That's not how you define a country. Otherwise early human settlement would make France around 1.5 million years old.

[@MikeAG333]

@@kaledvoulch Careful. Those were a different species of human, not Homo sapiens.

[@kaledvoulch]

@@MikeAG333 Still they "inhabited" the land that only became France a few centuries ago. Or are you suggesting that they were illegal aliens or something? Certainly less inaccurate than equaling "country" (a nation with its own governement) with "inhabited".

[@davidebic]

Mentioning the glass donation from Cologne cathedral was a nice touch, a great way to show how the violent relationship that characterized France and Germany in the previous centuries has now turned into a friendship.

[@heliedecastanet1882]

👍

[@slowerpicker]

I heard somewhere that an architectural historian shortly before the fire had made extensive and accurate 3D renderings of minute details such as the joinery used in the wooden elements of the structure-taking a lot of the guesswork out of the reconstruction. Pure luck. Great episode!

[@brodriguez11000]

Being famous has it's advantageous. e.g. Titanic, etc.

[@MikeAG333]

I believe the chap in question was a young architectural student.

[@sultanabran1]

pure luck or a suspicious coincedence

[@MikeAG333]

@@sultanabran1 Like all trolls, your spelling is atrocious.

[@CROM-on1bz]

@@sultanabran1 Just miracle

[@Alan_Hans__]

Absolutely amazing effort to restore such a beautiful building. Somewhat sad that the Louvre doesn't get more visitors as it is both a magnificent building itself but it contains far more history and art than the cathedral does.

[@GeekyMedia]

It was enjoyable to see The B1M cover a more historical project. Obviously the tragedy is relatively recent, but I’d like to see coverage of older buildings too

[@TheB1M]

Thanks! We’ll bear that in mind 👍

[@makeitso74]

I'd love to see a longer and more detailed version of this restoration video. This is fantastic, and my favourite so far, and I've watched several others as well, but yeah .... I'm fascinated especially with the old forms of craftsmanship and masonry that was needed. Not many of those old school artists are left. It sounds like if this had happened in another 50 odd years ... well, we're meant to be advancing, however we shouldn't be losing old skills at the same time .... if that makes sense.

[@choisyaternata8050]

As a non-French having lived here for 20 years, I'm impressed by the French' ability to build great structures, in stark contrast with their somewhat chaotic reputation. I think an important element for this success is their love for craftsmanship. Ancient techniques are studied, cherished and practiced still today, which is a huge resource to fall back on when great old buildings like these are in distress. On a side note, thanks for mentioning the organ! An amazing musical instrument indeed!

[@Tom-Lahaye]

Really hats of to everyone who worked on this project. The removal of the partially collapsed scaffolding without causing more damage was a nightmare. It was a luck with all the bad things that happened that the organ was not destroyed by the fire, it would have been the most difficult part of the entire project to make a recreation of it true to the original.

[@pinheirokde]

flying buttress main reason to exist is not the one you mention... the are meant to balance the horizontal stresses coming from a ever larger roof. not more vertical load. if it was that thicker walls would sufice. I suspect, that the lack of the roof that produced the horizontal stress was a huge reason for the destabilization of the flying buttress

[@sparksmcgee6641]

You are wrong and don't understand explaining load lines. It's a general public video, and in fact, it is holding the load or the roof which is vertical from the buttresses.

[@pinheirokde]

@@sparksmcgee6641 yeah what do I a civil engeneer know about stress analisis :D very simple you you have 2 beams in a angle subject to a vertical force when it hits the ground it decomposes in to a vertical axis and an horizontal one, you know becouse the beam in on an agle and can mostly freely rotate on the basis (no momentum trasmited) in old roofs you can see this beeing offset by another beam conecting the basis of bowth ends of the "triangle" that beam would be under tension, Now on big roof you would need a realy long tree to make those but they would bend under their hown weight. ( in mome more "modern" churches you would see metal rods doing the same thing) (metal work in the midle ages had not reach that point and they mostly relied on compressive engeneering and stone work) Solution ... flying buttress to allow the horizontal stress to be carried over to the ground unsing arches

[@pinheirokde]

@@sparksmcgee6641 I'm, a civil engineer i know a fair bit about stress analizis. but you just need to check wikipedia... "The advantage of such lateral-support systems is that the outer walls do not have to be massive and heavy in order to resist the LATERAL-FORCE thrusts of the vault."

[@sparksmcgee6641]

@pinheirokde Seriously? You're an engineer, and you're citing Wikipedia??? I know how a flying buttress works. I'm a builder. I'm the one people blame if a building collapses. Never heard someone say we should ask a civil engineer how to do a structural engineer's job.

[@pinheirokde]

@@sparksmcgee6641 in my country civil engineer are structural engineers... I'm giving you a Wikipedia article because they are written in layman's terms, if that's not enough for you there is always school, Btw ton of respect for builders my father was one so was my grandfather. But you should know what you don't know...

[@conradjustinart]

Very instructive video, thank you! Small note: flying buttresses are used to distribute lateral forces that come from the weight of the vaulted CEILING, not the walls (walls can hold their own weight). Incredibly inspiring work by the French engineers!

[@fabriziocetto502]

9 years is fast given the circumstances

[@jermainetrainallen6416]

Sounds like a huge undertaking. Thanks for shedding more light on this restoration

[@juraj_OK]

The video took 8 mins racing through a handful of history and funfacts, and an ad, until the point where the actual restoration was mentioned. And then couple of sentences that can be summarised as "it's an important and fragile building, therefore they have to be extra careful, but work is advancing just fine". Thanks!

[@sparksmcgee6641]

Go watch the long version you whiner.

[@thomasallen6980]

I enjoy this channel and I am a subscriber. Thanks for making cities and bridges interesting.

[@crasher88]

I have never been to Notre Dame but I have always read and heard about how unique the acoustics of that building are. I hope they were able to restore that aspect of the building to some degree.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

That scaffolding though... 😳

[@InXLsisDeo]

Cutting the old scaffolding in pieces was an extremely dangerous process, as they had to saw the melted metal piece by piece in such a way that the whole thing didn't risk crumbling, killing the workers at the same time.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

@@InXLsisDeo No, I was talking about the _replacement_ scaffolding. That's incredible, that's obscenely complex. The design work that must have gone into that, balancing lateral strength and support strength. I wonder if the scaffolds increase in diameter as you go down the structure. And the _shape_ they had to confirm to, all true functionality they had to build in, the safety measures. Cutting the old one down, yeah, it's crazy dangerous and you're playing Death Kerplunk but ultimately it's careful demolition, top to bottom. All while Notre Dame is trying to fall down around you.

[@sigcrazy7]

I am an American who has never been to Paris, but it broke my heart to see this piece of humanity’s history burning, for Notre Dame is a piece of our history too. God bless the French people for choosing to restore this building to its former state so that future generations can be in awe of the culture that produced such wonderful examples of human creativity. Vive la France!

[@zoodamarcousin]

anybody know what kind of mask the guy is wearing at 1:04? ive never seen this style before. its interesting

[@AClayton172]

Idk but I'm sure it's high dollar lol. That thing is sweet.

[@juli8vdberg562]

I am staring at it every day I pass by it and love and cherish this masterpiece or architecture and on Dec 8, will attend the reopening ceremony

[@TonyTomas01]

And yet people French bashing saying we can’t build shit. This channel is full of French construction projects

[@GeekyMedia]

Any sensible person does not say that.

[@Existentialprophet]

You can’t build shit that anyone cares about I think is more accurate. No one cares about an old church. For real for real. It’s actually disgusting how much money is spent on it. No different than the 250 million dollar public suicide platform they built in Hudson yards, nyc. Yuck

[@jxxxxx44]

​@@Existentialprophetokay china

[@SkyForceOne2]

its mostly a running gag. that sometimes reinforces itself ;)

[@andrewkelley9405]

ya'll are better at building nuclear reactors than a large portion of the western world, the USA included.

[@asimork9001]

Appreciate your analysis. I love your explanation.

[@gunnarherzog5538]

I am aghast that any other notion rather than rebuilding the cathedral to its fromer glory was ever even considered. The modernists will stop at nothing to destroy what little beauty in the world wasn't already destroyed by them

[@JJAB91]

It's modern day France, what do you expect? Did you seem the shitshow that was the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony? Its a miracle saner heads prevailed with the Notre Dame restoration.

[@nicolascavadini3570]

The point was that the "flèche" or whatever it's called in english dated from the mid ninteenth century, unlike the structure, the roof, the towers and stained glasses that came to us from the middle ages. The pool was abviously a bad idea, but a different/more modern "fleche" wasn't so farfetched ... unless you like viollet le duc style

[@khenricx]

structures evolve with their time. Even the spire that collapsed in 2019 wasn't the orginal and was very different in style from the one from the middle ages

[@IAMPLEDGE]

there are always crackpot schemes put forward so that most people are happy with what is eventually built.

[@IAMPLEDGE]

@@khenricx yes, I was staggered to learn very recently that the spire of my local cathedral (Rochester) was only constructed in 1904. It is only 64 years older than I am! I thought the photo I saw of it online without a spire was a hoax!

[@pjacobsen1000]

The B1M should make a video around 'fires in old buildings during renovation projects'. There are so many examples of fires starting in historic buildings exactly because they were in the process of being renovated, sometimes because a welding machine was left on or similar occurrence. That should then be followed up by another video that examines efforts to develop new, better and safer practices in construction and renovation projects.

[@EequalsMC2ed]

Thanks for the interesting video to watch during my morning poo

[@GazMoby]

Very enjoyable as always 👍

[@TheB1M]

Ah thanks! Glad you enjoyed it 🙌

[@KusholaCam]

Fun fact they used scans from assassins creed 🤙

[@Nick-kz6dg]

No, they didn't. A quick Google disproves it almost immediately

[@urbanstrencan]

Another brilliant video keep up with great work ❤❤

[@toto123456ish]

Eugène Viollet-le-Duc

[@soshwoink2203]

I would have loved the mention that the reconstruction was possible due to the amazing work of a video game studio that had recreated Notre-Dame years before and that their researchs and digital model of the cathedral helped the reconstruction.

[@Alvin-]

Wow I'm in early. What a day.

[@BodywiseMustard]

In your closing statement about the fragility of our old buildings, I would have thought you'd mention that huge parliament building which burned down recently.

[@humphrey4976]

Oooohhh La La

[@joeyates3909]

wonderful building and great work, cant wait to go and visit in all its glory

[@atzutzu]

We all know who’s responsible for it, we saw the comments on the live video as the catherdral was burning! besides, hundreds of french churches burning ‘’accidentally’’ or desacreated in the pst 4 years is simply not a coincidence.

[@pikeyMcBarkin]

great video. Thank you.