Parvis de Notre-Dame

The Parvis de Notre-Dame exhibition, presented in 2022 at the Pavillon de l'Arsenal, covers the four projects to redevelop the area around the cathedral. In parallel with the restoration of the cathedral, the City of Paris is beginning a process of reflection to reimagine the Parvis de Notre-Dame. The challenge is twofold: to connect the monument to the city and to the Seine, and to provide a dignified welcome for the 12 million visitors who come each year.

To obtain the best possible response, an international competition was launched in the form of a “competitive dialogue”, which our group won.

The winning team consists of landscape architects and agent Bureau Bas Smets, urban architects GRAU, heritage architects Neufville - Gayet, multidisciplinary engineers Ingérop, Atelier Franck Boutté in environmental engineering, Éclaireurs in lighting design, BDL Waterdesign in fountain design and Cronos Conseil as safety expert.

At the workshop, we approached the project based on precise mathematical modeling. Each location is treated in a specific way:

• On the south bank, the reinforced plant masses cool the river breeze and create shaded areas
• On the forecourt, which must remain open to the sky and the views, comfort is provided by a film of water that follows the weather
• Along the rue du cloître, the planted trees create shade at the threshold of the Hôtel-Dieu and refresh visitors before they discover the cathedral.

The proposed developments offer a significant improvement in comfort compared to the existing situation, with an archipelago of places of climatic refuge and a reduction of 10°C in the surface temperature of the forecourt.

“It's not just a question of curbing disruption, but of adapting to it,” argues Franc Boutté, who is working on transforming what he presented to the jury as a ‘microclimatic forecourt’. ”The climate of Paris will be that of Seville in 2050 and Tangier in 2100. It is essential to adapt the city to these future conditions. Why not start with this project?