Notre-Dame fire calls attention to other historic properties that could be in jeopardy

The fire that ravaged the more than 850-year-old Notre-Dame Cathedral could put a spotlight on other historic structures around the world, Miami architect Kobi Karp said on Cheddar.

“The main concern is what other structures in Paris and in other cities around the world are in this type of jeopardy that can happen so quickly,” said Karp, founder and principal of Kobi Karp Architecture & Interior Design.

On Monday, a blaze  destroyed most of Notre-Dame’s roof and central spire. French authorities were still investigating what caused the fire, although it was likely related to the construction surrounding the historic building’s renovations. More than $678 million has been raised to rebuild the cathedral, including hundreds of millions of euros from French billionaires and retail rivals Bernard Arnault and François-Henri Pinault.

France plans to hold an international competition to come up with a replacement design for Notre Dame Cathedral’s spire. The competition will address whether the spire should be rebuilt at all and, if so, whether or not it should be identical to the one destroyed.

Karp stressed that life and fire safety measures will need to be taken into consideration when rebuilding Notre-Dame.

“We have to take steps now to bring it back and rebuild it correctly the way it was the day before the fire and at the same time bring it [up] to the life safety, fire preparation [standards],” he said.

The meticulous rebuild could take decades to complete and hundreds of millions of dollars, he added. [Cheddar] —Katherine Kallergis