Notre-Dame de Paris (1:1 scale)
Minecraft Cathedral by THSchutt (2020)
This particular replica of Notre-Dame, dubbed my "Ship of Theseus" build, was originally built in primordial Minecraft back in 2011, under the name TomBuilder (now THSchutt), and was extensively revised and updated over the last decade, with the final version you see now finished in 2020.
The goal of this build was to keep the scale and dimensions as close to the actual size as possible while maintaining aesthetics. The bell towers are within just a block or two of the true height (1 block being 1 meter^3), and the proportions of the western facade are quite close. The length is *slightly* too long, by roughly 15%, a sacrifice made to keep the piers of the interior well spaced. Interestingly, the real Notre-Dame's north tower is slightly wider than the south tower, and so in this build the north tower is one block wider than the south tower, which provided an interesting challenge to keep the two appearing symmetrical.
DIMENSIONS: MODEL (blocks) vs. REAL (m)
Nave Height: 35 vs. 34
Total Length: 157 vs. 135.5
Rooftop Height: 48 vs. 45
Facade Width: 44 vs. 41.6
Towers Height: 70.5 vs. 68
North Tower Width (ground): 16 vs. 15.1
Spire Height: 100 vs. 95
South Tower Width (ground): 15 vs. 14.0
Transept Width: 60 vs. 51.5
The replica's interior is fully complete, both at the base "nave" level as well as throughout the different levels within the towers, triforium, and even the attic "forest" which burned in Paris on April 15, 2019. Most passages are accurate, though a few minor guesses needed to be made with limited information and source material. During construction, I compared my model with the Assassin's Creed: Unity version, and I discovered that their model had several significant inaccuracies, particularly regarding the passageways connecting the triforium to the bell towers.
For Cathedral Talk, I've begun construction of a much larger 2:1 scale model of Notre-Dame where I'll be able to squeeze in much more detail! In this new much larger replica, I'll be able to work in more subtle asymmetries that closely resemble the real cathedral. Check back regularly for more updates in the future!
