Autodesk is supporting the rejuvenation of the area surrounding Notre-Dame de Paris.
The City of Paris has chosen a design from a team led by Brussels-based international architect Bureau Bas Smets to reimagine the area surrounding the cathedral. The project site includes the forecourt of the cathedral and its underground spaces and areas over the banks of the Seine River. Construction is due to begin in 2024 and complete in 2028.
The design competition, launched last year, is supported by Autodesk, which provided technological expertise throughout the competition. Autodesk’s BIM software was used to create a 3D model of the existing area surrounding the Notre-Dame cathedral that competing teams used to understand the constraints of the site.
Autodesk then worked with the four competing teams to help them create photorealistic visualisations of their design proposals. The digital documents associated with the competition, as well as the models produced, were also available to be used between the four teams, the City of Paris and Autodesk to collaborate in real-time on the Autodesk Construction Cloud platform.
Greater clarity
By visualising the project in 3D, the City of Paris foresees a reduction in errors and greater clarity and collaboration with the winning team. Emmanuel Grégoire, first deputy mayor of Paris, said: “The 3D visualisation of the candidates’ projects, using Autodesk technologies, enabled the jury to immerse themselves in the proposals for the redevelopment of this historic district of Paris, and choose the best design. We hope millions of visitors will enjoy this exceptional site once construction is completed.”
Bureau Bas Smets landscape architect Charlotte Fagart said: “The project rethinks the emblematic public spaces around Notre Dame as an assemblage of climatic atmospheres. The various working sessions with the Autodesk team helped to confirm the project hypotheses initially tested in the plan and model.”
Nicolas Mangon, vice-president of AEC industry strategy at Autodesk, added: “Through this new project, Paris is reaffirming its commitment to digital transformation and is now positioning itself as one of the first ‘cities of the future’ by placing digital technology at the heart of its strategy to accelerate urban modernisation.”
Don’t miss out on BIM and digital construction news: sign up to receive the BIMplus newsletter.
