Notre Dame Restoration Embraces Digital Technology

It has been two years since a fire engulfed Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, and in that time a public body dedicated to the conservation and restoration of the cathedral has been established, which recently announced its official patronage with Autodesk.

Autodesk is a global software provider and is contributing design and construction technology solutions, including Building Information Modelling (BIM) support, an intelligent data and geometry 3D modelling process and technical expertise. The use of BIM creates a historical digital record for increased resiliency for future events and restoration.

By embracing the new innovative digital approach, the public establishment which is dedicated to the conservation and restoration of Notre Dame is enabling cloud collaboration among stakeholders as well as relying on a common data environment to serve as a central repository for all project information so all permitted stakeholders can have access to the latest data and plans.

Data created using reality capture technologies prior to the fire enabled Autodesk to create 3D BIM model of the Notre Dame Cathedral as it existed before the fire. Autodesk then used recent reality capture scans to create 3D models post-fire for comparison.

Army General Jean-Louis Georgelin, President of the public establishment dedicated to the conservation and restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, said; “I warmly thank Autodesk for supporting the rebirth of Paris Notre-Dame Cathedral. Using digital technologies designed for the supervision and management of the restoration site is essential for the public institution. Thanks to Autodesk’s patronage, the use of cutting-edge design and construction technologies and BIM, are being leveraged to help prepare for the reopening of the cathedral, and to once again welcome both pilgrims and visitors.”

Nicolas Mangon, Autodesk Vice President of Business Strategy for Architecture, Engineering and Construction Design Solutions, said: “We are humbled to participate in the restoration and future preservation of the Notre-Dame Cathedral, a truly magnificent architectural wonder of the world. Since the devastating fire two years ago, we have provided funding and technology to support the effort through the French Fondation Du Patrimone (Heritage Foundation) and this announcement reinforces our commitment.”

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