INTERGEO: Autodesk supports the reconstruction of the cathedral Notre Dame in Paris. What is the aim of your work?

Emmanuel di Giacomo: The aim of our work is to help reconstruct Notre-Dame after this terrible fire, and therefore accelerate its reconstruction thanks to BIM and specifically using our solutions for the Architecture, Engineering and Construction Industry in order to give back the Cathedral its previous beauty in Paris skyline and allow tourists and visitors to discover it back again.

What exactly are you doing?

Autodesk is helping through software donation, training, consulting and technical expertise and the production of a precise BIM model of Notre-Dame and its close surroundings. We provide consulting support to the 'L'établissement public chargé de la conservation et de la restauration' (EPRND) through training and upskilling the team on Autodesk technologies and providing guidance and best practices on BIM. Thanks to this BIM model and expertise, we'll be able to help through several use cases that we've been defining with the EPRND, the public organization in charge of Notre-Dame reconstruction. These use cases are:

• Creation, enrichment and extension of the BIM model of Notre-Dame and its close surroundings

• Logistics on the construction site helping to understand and plan how and when to bring materials, engines and trucks

• Extraction of any kind of quantities of materials from the BIM model in order to save money and avoid any issues

• Collaboration and communication optimization between all the stakeholders through the use of a cloud collaboration platform

Which methods and tools do you use?

We mainly use the tools and software included in our AEC Collection. Autodesk provides software licenses of its AEC (Architecture, Engineering, Construction) Collection, an extensive set of some of the most advanced digital design, engineering, and construction management tools in the industry, including Autodesk® Revit® a leading BIM solution, Autodesk ReCap™ Pro, Autodesk® Civil 3D®, AutoCAD®, Autodesk® Navisworks®and the Cloud collaborativeon Cloud platform Autodesk BIM 360 and many others which support projects from early-stage design through construction. Finally, Autodesk will provide consulting support to the EPRND through training and upskilling the team on Autodesk technologies and providing guidance and best practices on BIM.

And what happens, if the cathedral will burn again?

We definitely hope it will not burn again. Therefore, we try to educate the owners on the importance of having a digital twin using the BIM model we're creating, connected with fire and temperature sensors which would allow to detect any start of fire and therefore stop it right away.

Also, the EPRND is certainly going to install many fire prevention systems in the renovated cathedral.

In any cases, Autodesk will always be committed at helping making a better world and protecting our environment and historical assets like monuments.

Emmanuel, thanks for the interview.

INTERGEO 2021

Visit Autodesk GmbH here:

Hall: 23
Booth: 23A.50

Secure your ticket now!

Further information on the topic of BIM: