Parliament refurb poses important questions about correct way to conserve architecture

By 2026-02-26T07:00:00

Ellie cropped

The French achieved a stunning feat by rebuilding Notre Dame in an improbably short space of time. So why does the Palace of Westminster restoration seem so much harder, asks Eleanor Jolliffe

I recently spent a weekend in Paris. While there, we decided to queue to see the recently(ish) reopened Notre Dame. 

I spent the queue reading an article on Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc that I had been meaning to get to so entered the great cathedral feeling particularly thoughtful about the great conservation debate – to restore as was and risk fictionalising a building by choosing an imagined moment of perfection, or to stick rigidly to the The Society For The Protection Of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) approach, repairing in such a way that the fabric is protected and the full history is seen. (I’m great fun on holiday!).

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