Rebuilding Notre Dame Will Be Long, Fraught and Expensive

重建巴黎聖母院：前景堪憂(fraught)且所費不貲的漫漫長路

Notre Dame in Paris is not the first great cathedral to suffer a devastating fire, and it probably won't be the last.

法國巴黎（Paris）聖母院（Notre Dame，以下簡稱「聖母院」）並不是第一座受到毀滅性(devastating)大火摧殘的大教堂，但也可能不會是最後一座。

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在高等教育，哈佛大學教授Sandel教授的「正義」課堂是一則傳奇。1980年第一次開課，學生只有15人，近年則每每破千，桃李遍及各界菁英。2009年，哈佛大學決定把這門課向全球公開，作者不只把教學內容寫成本書，上課實況還被剪輯成12個鐘頭，在美國公共電視播出。大學課堂整學期實況向公眾播放，這是美國電視史上第一次，也是至今唯一僅有的一次。在這12堂課組成的系列中，Sandel教授以艱難的道德困境向我們挑戰，並詢問我們對於「怎麼做才正確？」的看法，然後他在新的狀況下要我們審視我們的答案。結果往往令人驚訝不已，顯示出重要的道德問題從來就不是非黑即白的。這些矛盾的觀點磨鍛鍊了我們自我的道德信念，給予我們更明確的道德觀，使我們更能理解在一個民主國家中所遇到的反對意見。

Rebuilding Notre Dame Will Be Long, Fraught and Expensive
VOA News
April 16, 2019 7:58 PM (source)

Rebuilding Notre Dame Will Be Long, Fraught and Expensive

重建巴黎聖母院：前景堪憂(fraught)且所費不貲的漫漫長路

April 16, 2019 7:58 PM

Associated Press

Notre Dame in Paris is not the first great cathedral to suffer a devastating fire, and it probably won't be the last.

In a sense, that is good news. A global army of experts and craftspeople can be called on for the long, complex process of restoring the gutted landmark.

The work will face substantial challenges -- starting immediately, with the urgent need to protect the inside of the 850-year-old cathedral from the elements, after its timber-beamed roof was consumed by flames.

The first priority is to put up a temporary metal or plastic roof to stop rain from getting in. Then, engineers and architects will begin to assess the damage.

Fortunately, Notre Dame is a thoroughly documented building. Over the years, historians and archeologists have made exhaustive plans and images, including minutely detailed, 3-D laser-scanned re-creations of the interior.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of the conservation organization Historic England, said Tuesday that the cathedral will need to be made secure without disturbing the debris scattered inside, which may provide valuable information -- and material -- for restorers.

"The second challenge is actually salvaging the material," he said. "Some of that material may be reusable, and that's a painstaking exercise. It's like an archaeological excavation."

Despite fears at the height of the inferno that the whole cathedral would be lost, the structure appears intact. Its two rectangular towers still jut into the Paris skyline, and the great stone vault stands atop heavy walls supported by massive  flying buttresses. An edifice built to last an eternity withstood its greatest test.

Tom Nickson, a senior lecturer in medieval art and architecture at London's Courtauld Institute, said the stone vault "acted as a kind of fire door between the highly flammable roof and the highly flammable interior" -- just as the cathedral's medieval builders intended.

Now, careful checks will be needed to determine whether the stones of the vaulted ceiling have been weakened and cracked by the heat. If so, the whole vault may need to be torn down and re-erected.

The cathedral's exquisite stained-glass rose windows appear intact but are probably suffering "thermal shock" from intense heat followed by cold water, said Jenny Alexander, an expert on medieval art and architecture at the University of Warwick. That means the glass, set in lead, could have sagged or been weakened and will need minute examination.

Once the building has been stabilized and the damage assessed, restoration work can begin. It's likely to be an international effort.

"Structural engineers, stained-glass experts, stone experts are all going to be packing their bags and heading for Paris in the next few weeks," Alexander said.

One big decision will be whether to preserve the cathedral just as it was before the fire, or to take a more creative approach.

It's not always a straightforward choice. Notre Dame's spire, destroyed in Monday's blaze, was added to the Gothic cathedral during 19th-century renovations. Should it be rebuilt as it was, or replaced with a new design for the 21st century?

Financial and political considerations, as well as aesthetic ones, are likely to play a part in the decision.

Getting materials may also be a challenge. The cathedral roof was made from oak beams cut from centuries-old trees. Even in the 13th century, they were hard to come by. Nickson said there is probably no country in Europe with big enough trees today.

Alternatives could include a different type of structure made from smaller beams, or even a metal roof -- though that would be unpopular with purists.

The restored building will have to reflect modern-day health and safety standards. But Eric Salmon, a former site manager at the Paris cathedral, said it is impossible to eliminate all risk.

"It is like a street accident. It can happen anywhere, anytime," said Salmon, who now serves as technical director at the Notre Dame cathedral in Strasbourg, France.

The roof of Strasbourg's Notre Dame was set ablaze during the 1870 Franco-Prussian War. It took up to five years to restore the wooden structure. Nowadays the roof is split into three fire-resistant sections to make sure one blaze can't destroy it all. Smoke detectors are at regular intervals.

Still, Salmon said that what worked in Strasbourg may not be suitable for Paris. Each cathedral is unique.

"We are not going to modify an historic monument to respect the rules. The rules have to be adapted to the building," he said.

Experts agree the project will take years, if not decades. Audrey Azoulay, director-general of UNESCO, the United Nations’ cultural organization, said restoring Notre Dame "will last a long time and cost a lot of money." A government appeal for funds has already raised hundreds of millions of euros (dollars) from French businesses.

But few doubt that Notre Dame will rise again.

"Cathedrals are stone phoenixes -- reminders that out of adversity we may be reborn," said Emma Wells, a buildings archaeologist at the University of York.

"The silver lining, if we can call it that, is this allows for historians and archaeologists to come in and uncover more of its history than we ever knew before. It is a palimpsest of layers of history, and we can come in and understand the craft of our medieval forebears." 

法國巴黎（Paris）聖母院（Notre Dame，以下簡稱「聖母院」）並不是第一座受到毀滅性(devastating)大火摧殘的大教堂，但也可能不會是最後一座。

就某種意義上來說(in a sense)，這算是好消息。大批(army)來自世界各地的專家和工藝家(craftspeople)受到號召(call on)，共同為這損毀的(gutted)地標(landmark)漫長且複雜的重建之路盡份心力。

重建工作將面臨許多重大(substantial)挑戰：首先，以木材為梁柱的(timber-beamed)教堂屋頂遭到烈火吞噬(consume)後，必須即刻保護這座已有 850 年歷史的教堂的內部，避免再受惡劣天氣(the elements)的摧殘。

當務之急在於搭建(put up)金屬或塑膠的暫時屋頂，以防止雨水滲進教堂。然後，工程師和建築師會評估(access)其損壞程度。

值得慶幸的是，有關於聖母院這座建築物的紀載完備。長久以來，歷史學家和考古學家已製作詳盡的(exhaustive)的設計圖和影像畫面，包括以周密(minutely)精細的 3-D 雷射掃描技術重現教堂內部(interior)。

鄧肯．威爾遜（Duncan Wilson）是文物保存組織「英格蘭歷史建物委員會（Historic England）」的執行長。他於週二（編按：2019 年 4 月 16 日）表示，必須在不挪動(disturb)教堂內散落各處的碎片(debris)之下確保大教堂安全無虞，因為這些殘磚破瓦也許能夠提供修繕者重要的資訊和建材。

「第二項挑戰其實是如何搶救(salvage)大教堂原有的建材。」他指出。「有些建材也許可以再利用，但要如何在殘磚碎瓦中找出這些建材會讓人煞費苦心(painstaking)，因為過程就像是考古挖掘(archaeological excavation)般。」

原本眾人擔憂整座大教堂會遭火海(inferno)吞噬，但教堂結構似乎完好(intact)如初。其中，兩座矩形鐘塔仍然矗立(jut)於巴黎天際(skyline)，巨大的石穹頂(vault)直立在厚實的牆上(atop . . .)，這些外牆皆由龐大的飛扶壁(flying buttress)支撐。這座歷史悠久(an eternity)的宏偉建築(edifice)挺住(withstand)了有史以來最大的考驗。

湯姆．尼克森（Tom Nickson）是英國倫敦（London）科陶德藝術學院（Courtauld Institute）歐洲中世紀美術(medieval art)和建築的資深講師。他表示，石穹頂「在很易燃的(flammable)屋頂和內部間扮演了防火門(fire door)的角色」，發揮了當初中世紀建造這座大教堂的人所設想的作用。

如今，支撐穹頂天花板的石材是否因高溫而受損破裂(crack)仍有待仔細檢查才能確定。若真是如此，整片穹頂可能需要先拆除(tear down)再重新建造(erect)。

大教堂精緻的(exquisite)彩色玻璃(stained-glass)玫瑰窗（rose window）似乎完好如初，但很可能因為強烈的(intense)火勢與隨後的冷水澆灌而遭受熱衝擊（thermal shock），珍妮．亞歷山大（Jenny Alexander）解釋道。她是英國華威大學（University of Warwick）歐洲中世紀美術與建築的專家。也就是說，鑲在鉛體裡的玻璃可能已下陷(sag)或遭到破壞，因此需要仔細的(minute)檢查。

一旦整座建築物穩固(stabilize)下來且受損程度鑑定完畢，即可開始修復(restoration)工作。這很可能需要國際間的通力合作。

「接下來的幾週，結構工程師、彩色玻璃專家和石材專家將會打包行李前往巴黎。」亞歷山大描述道。

專家面臨的重大決策在於是否保留大教堂慘遭祝融前的面貌，還是採取較具創意的作法。

然而，這樣的抉擇並不是那麼簡單(straightforward)。週一（編按：2019 年 4 月 15 日）烈焰(blaze)中毀壞的聖母院尖塔(spire)是在 19 世紀這座哥德式（Gothic）大教堂翻新(renovation)期間加入的。究竟尖塔應該照著原來樣貌重建，還是以 21 世紀的新風貌取代？

財務、政治以及美感(aesthetic)方面的考量，都可能對重建的決策產生影響(play a part in . . .)。

建材取得也可能是挑戰之一。大教堂的屋頂原是由上百年的橡樹梁(beam)建構而成。即使是在 13 世紀也很難取得(come by . . .)這些建材。尼克森指出，現今的歐洲恐怕沒有國家擁有這麼粗壯的樹木了。

替代方案可能含括了不同類型的建築結構，這種結構用較小的木梁製成，或者甚至以金屬為屋頂建材，不過這樣的方式可能不受純粹主義者(purist)歡迎(unpopular with . . .)。

重建的教堂必須符合今日的衛生和安全法規。不過，曾是聖母院駐場經理（site manager）的艾瑞克．薩蒙（Eric Salmon）表示，即使這樣，也不表示能排除(eliminate)所有意外發生的風險。

「這就像是交通事故，在任何地方、任何時候都可能發生。」薩蒙敘述著。他目前是法國史特拉斯堡主教座堂（Notre Dame cathedral in Strasbourg）的技術指導員（technical director，TD）。

史特拉斯堡主教座堂的屋頂在 1870 年的普法戰爭（Franco-Prussian War）中遭到熊熊烈火(ablaze)燒毀。整座教堂的木造結構花了近 5 年才整修完畢。如今教堂屋頂劃分為 3 個防火(fire-resistant)區塊，以確保大火來襲時不會付之一炬。此外，也在固定距離(interval)設置煙霧偵測器(smoke detector)。

儘管如此，薩蒙仍表示適用於史特拉斯堡主教座堂的方案不見得適合巴黎聖母院，畢竟每間大教堂都獨一無二。

「我們不會為了尊重修繕規則而去改造(modify)歷史遺跡(historic monument)。相反地，規則必須為建築物改變。」他解釋道。

專家認為修復工作即便不需要幾十年，也會花上幾年的時間。聯合國教育、科學及文化組織（United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization，UNESCO；簡稱「聯合國教科文組織」）是聯合國（United Nations）的文化機構，其總幹事（director-general）奧德蕾．阿祖萊（Audrey Azoulay）表示，整修聖母院「將會持續好一段時間且費用龐大。」目前，由法國政府提出的金援請求(appeal for . . .)已從各企業募集了數億歐元（美元）。

然而，許多人確信聖母院會重新屹立在世人面前。

「大教堂就像是石鳳凰(phoenix)般，提醒世人逆境(adversity)過後就是重生(reborn)。」艾瑪．威爾斯（Emma Wells）形容。她是英國約克大學（University of York）的建築考古學家(buildings archaeologist)。

「如果從困境中的一絲希望(silver lining)這個角度來看待，這次火災讓歷史學家和考古學家齊聚聖母院，同時揭開(uncover)了大教堂過去不為人知的歷史面貌。這就像是重複書寫的羊皮書卷(palimpsest)，上面記載了好幾代的歷史事蹟，讓我們可以從中了解中世紀祖先(forebear)的工藝技術(craft)。」〔編按：聖母院大火相關報導請參考聯合國新聞網站資訊：https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/04/1036731。〕