Gothic architecture: Can the 12th-century style radically change how we build today?

Little over a year ago the world nearly lost one of its most recognizable examples of Gothic architecture, as the spire and a sizeable part of the roof of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris burned to ashes. Now the debate carries on about what to do with the damaged building. Should the missing spire be restored to its original Gothic form, or updated with something more in line with the architecture of today? And what does it mean to be "Gothic" anyway? If something is Gothic can it also be contemporary? For such questions we need a little background.

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