How can sculpture, architecture, and lasers come together to recreate the artisanship of a Parisian icon? Beginning on September 28, students and faculty at the Lamar Dodd School of Art are hosting a week-long workshop at Thomas Street Art Complex with partner Handshouse Studio to build La Forêt Model, a 1:10 scale replica of the Notre Dame de Paris roof framework in white oak, based on a meticulous hand-drawn survey and a remarkable composite laser survey.

The in-progress model will be viewable on multiple occasions, including at the Short Shorts Film Festival, Open Studios, and Jewelry Sale on the evening of September 29. The workshop will culminate in a public presentation and exhibition of the model with Handshouse Studio co-founders and their executive director on October 4 from 2 - 4 PM at the Lamar Dodd School of Art in the first floor atrium and in room S151. The program is free and open to the public. Support for the University of Georgia installment of La Forêt Model was generously provided by the Willson Center for Humanities & Arts.

Presentation: The Notre Dame de Paris Truss Project by Handshouse Studio co-founders Rick Brown and Laura Brown and Executive Director Marie Brown 

Exhibition: La Forêt Model: Work in Progress, 1:10 scale model of the Notre-Dame de Paris roof framework, white oak, 2022

La Forêt Model Project
La Forêt Model Project is an effort led by Handshouse Studio to bring together institutions, historians, architects, carpenters, and students for hands-on workshops to explore key features of the Gothic cathedral.

In the summer of 2021, the Catholic University of America offered a course, taught by Tonya Ohnstad AIA, NCAR, centered on an effort to explore the architectural history of Notre Dame through hands-on construction of a model of “La Forêt.” La Forêt Model has and will continue to be built and exhibited around the country as part of The Notre Dame de Paris Truss Project, a collaboration led by Handshouse Studio that endeavors to explore how this medieval architectural icon was originally made.
 
The project, led by the Model Project Manager, architect Nat Crosby, has expanded to include participants from additional colleges and universities: Florida State University, Ball State University, Virginia Tech (WAAC), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Gordon College, Washington University, the University of Georgia, and the North Bennet Street School.