Vision of Notre Dame: architects respond to international design contest

Futuristic, modern, traditional or natural. Ideas abound for the reconstruction of Notre-Dame, which was severely damaged by fire last month. Some serious, some crazy, architects are responding to the challenge of an international design competition to rebuild the Paris icon. In one design you can walk among the trees under a glass roof. In another, tourists can gaze out on the French capital from a rooftop garden. Or there’s a more religious proposal – a roof and spire made entirely of stained glass. Architect Alexandre Chassang suggested a glass spire. "Let`'s open the debate," he said. "We don'`t have to rebuild identically. We can do this in a contemporary way while respecting the heritage of this building." In an echo of the Twin Towers memorial in New York, other archiects imagine replacing the spire with simple beams of light. Tourists shown the designs had mixed opinions. "Maybe it's a little too much, I think, we're moving away from the original," said one. "There's green space, it's not bad," another said.