A McDonald’s is just one of the many ridiculous ideas being suggested for the restoration of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which was badly damaged in a devastating fire in April.

Following the inferno that destroyed the roof of the cathedral, the French Government had announced plans to conduct a global competition for redesigning the roof and spire.

Toronto-based planner Yung Yonge tweeted his vision of the Notre-Dame reconstruction where he mocked North America’s car culture by suggesting that the roof of the cathedral be turned into a car park. Irish architect Rob Cross further developed on the proposal by turning it into a multi-storey car parking facility to draw attention to society's dependency on cars in the age of climate change.

Yung Yonge Notre Dame carpark
Image credit: Yung Yonge (@brndan_)

Who Cares Design studio took inspiration from the classic tale of ‘The Hunchback of Notre-Dame’ to propose a penthouse for the book’s protagonist Quasimodo on the cathedral’s roof, complete with a rooftop garden.

Who Cares Design Notre Dame Quasimodo garden Image credit: Who Cares Design Studio

The massive donations received for the restoration of the Notre-Dame seem to have triggered the creative juices of an art director at Brazilian studio Entrequadra Novas Mídias, Pedro Ribs who suggests that Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) – one of the generous donors – rebuild the cathedral back to its original state. For their €200 million contribution, LVMH would also have the privilege of imprinting the famous Louis Vuitton logo on the rose windows as well as on flags flying from the towers and spire.

Stockholm-based design studio Ulf Mejergren Architects has proposed turning the roof of the Notre-Dame into a public space, more specifically, an open air public swimming pool, which would be surrounded by the 12 statues of the apostles.

Suggestions also include turning the cathedral into a giant circus to reflect the current chaos surrounding the restoration project.

Featured image: Boredpanda

Architecture News & Editorial Desk

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