Soltani + LeClerq's new york based architecture firm imagine Notre-Dame's reconstruction after the fire

Following the French government's latest decision to reconstruct Notre Dame’s roof and spire exactly as they were before the fire, Soltani and Le Clercq wanted to make an event out of its reconstruction process.

They designed the cathedral in a transparent box so it is encased as the most enormous displayed piece of art in the city of Paris.

This translucent veil enables everyone to catch parts of the process as it is being done. It is also made so visitors can actually visit the work being done on Notre Dame just like they see an exhibit. Visitors become part of the process itself just like they experienced the flames a few weeks ago.

Just as a butterfly in chrysalis, its transitional stage is a collective experience which moves Paris and its inhabitants. The memory of Notre Dame will faintly be visible as though in the transitional stage of a butterfly in chrysalis. its presence is felt throughout the reconstruction in an act of collective remembering.