Another pride for Mexico!
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Alejandro Arredondo was the only Latin American architect to participate in the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, as he designed the digital model used in the restoration after the 2019 fire.
Among more than 2,000 people, Alejandro Arredondo, originally from Coacalco, State of Mexico, was the only Latin American who participated in the project.
“It was impressive to see the remains of burnt wood on the floor, to see the main vault open with nothing on it, it was impressive. It was a moment of shock,” Arredondo said in an interview with AD from France, where he lives.
His interest in architecture was born thanks to his father, who saw him build several works in Coacalco since he was a child.
“He is not an architect, but he built the house where we lived, he built it across the street, he built a house next door. I saw several of his works growing up. And one of his friends was a carpenter. So I remember that I liked the smell of wood and the smell of the workshop,” he said. CONNECT, the news site of the Monterrey Institute of Technology.
The graduate of PrepaTec and Tec de Monterrey State of Mexico campus is a specialist in Building Information Modeling (BIM), and with the developed model it was possible to reconstruct walls, spaces, ceilings and other parts of the emblematic building.
Arredondo coordinated a team that used three-dimensional scanners and high-precision drones to capture information and angles of the affected site.
“At first it was unknown, it’s not something you do every week,” said the Tec de Monterrey graduate, who also explained that he shared this task with an American classmate and an Italian classmate, during an interview with Architectural Digest (AD).
The architect arrived in Paris without a job and looked for work at several agencies until he was hired by Art Graphique et Patrimoine, an engineering agency specialising in historical monuments that has participated in interventions in sites such as the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre Museum, which was chosen by the authorities to develop the 3D projects that were the basis for the reconstruction.
Notre Dame Cathedral, considered one of the most emblematic monuments in France, was reopened on December 7, after more than 5 years of reconstruction work.
During his interview with AD, he shared the challenges he faced during the Notre Dame project, where there were masks, filters and overalls, but also the use of technology without damaging the architectural value of the work, since it is usually conceived to create new buildings, without considering the ravages of the passage of time such as inclinations and subsidence.
“Software is designed to create modern buildings where everything is straight, and Notre Dame broke with that,” explained Arredondo, who has participated in several public works projects in Mexico.
Since 2022, Alejandro has been a professor at the Sorbonne University, where he teaches digital modeling, specializing in historical monuments.
“I try to support students who are also involved in these engineering activities,” he said.
Regarding the future, he said during his interview with CONECTA of Tec de Monterrey that he would like to support the conservation of historical monuments in the world, in addition to continuing to give inspiring messages.
“Being a foreigner, being able to say that I contributed my stone to the building is something I would like many people to be able to feel,” he added.
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