Imagine standing inside the magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral, sunlight streaming through its iconic stained-glass windows, the sound of a choir resonating through the vast stone arches. Now, picture being able to experience this breathtaking moment from wherever you are, with just a scroll of your mouse. 

Through the power of immersive storytelling, a team from The New York Times recreated the grandeur of the cathedral in “The Quest to Restore Notre Dame’s Glorious Sound.” Using 3D visualizations and interactive soundscapes, readers can now transport themselves into the heart of this architectural wonder which will reopen on December 7, five years after a devastating fire nearly destroyed the almost 900-year-old landmark.

Contributors Malika Khurana and Yuliya Parshina-Kottas discussed how they sought to capture the unique way sound interacts with the cathedral’s vast space, showing the beauty of this iconic structure as it underwent reconstruction.

Creating the visuals

“It’s always exciting to find a new way to engage readers,” said Parshina-Kottas who focused primarily on the 3D visualization of the cathedral’s interior. “Our goal was to create a sense of grandness and awe, so readers could imagine themselves there, even if they can’t travel to Notre Dame.”

Khurana, a graphics editor at The New York Times, joined the project with a specific goal: to highlight how integral sound is to Notre Dame’s identity. 

“When I joined, we knew we wanted to do something with audio that would explore the relationship between sound and space,” Khurana explained. “The team of sound researchers we worked with had conducted acoustic measurements at Notre Dame before the fire, which allowed us to create a continuous movement through a virtual representation of the cathedral.”

While Khurana focused on integrating spatial audio—a type of sound that changes depending on the listener’s position—Parshina-Kotta handled the 3D visuals. She collaborated with a team of architects,  using photography and detailed scans to create an accurate, yet minimalistic, representation of Notre Dame. 

“We didn’t want to create a photorealistic model,” Parshina-Kotta said. “Instead, we opted for a monochrome, black-and-white design to keep the focus on the geometry. It allowed us to make the visuals feel true to the form without overwhelming the sound, which was the real hero of the story.”

Overcoming technical hurdles

Transforming their vision into reality came with its share of challenges. Working with spatial audio for the first time on the web proved to be a complex endeavor for Khurana, particularly when trying to synchronize it with the interactive visuals. 

“The combination of visuals and spatial sound was resource-intensive and led to unexpected bugs,” she said. “We initially wanted a continuous interior experience where users could explore Notre Dame freely, but we had to compromise on a more restricted camera path. It was a learning curve, but ultimately, it made the experience smoother for the reader.”

Parshina-Kotta faced her own set of technical difficulties, particularly in ensuring the accuracy of the 3D model while maintaining its simplicity. She collaborated with her colleague Mika Gröndahl to rebuild certain details of the model, refining the textures to preserve key architectural elements like Notre Dame’s checkered marble floor. 

“Our challenge was to make sure that the visuals were not just accurate, but also inviting and awe-inspiring,” Parshina-Kotta said. “We wanted readers to feel as if they were stepping into a sacred space.”

Sound takes center stage

The decision to focus on sound was intentional: they wanted to explore a lesser-known aspect of Notre Dame’s legacy in the years following the fire. They aimed to remind readers of the profound significance of the cathedral’s burning and the true losses it represented.

“Focusing on sound allowed us to go beyond the visuals and add another layer of understanding,” Khurana said. “Notre Dame’s acoustics are what make it so unique, and it was important for us to convey that to the readers in a way that wasn’t just about the fire itself, but about the cathedral’s place in history.”

Parshina-Kotta shared that, during her early rendering tests, she was struck by the sheer scale of Notre Dame. She wanted to convey that feeling through the visuals, striving to ensure that readers would be just as awestruck by the cathedral’s beauty as she was.

Creating new experiences for readers

Both Khurana and Parshina-Kotta see their work on this project as a step toward the future of journalism, where emerging technologies like 3D visualization and spatial audio play a larger role in storytelling. For them, it’s about more than just enhancing visuals—it’s about creating experiences that engage readers on multiple sensory levels.

“I’m excited to see how these technologies will continue to evolve. When you can introduce space and sound into storytelling, you open up a whole new way for people to understand and connect with the story,” Parshina-Kotta said.

For readers, the experience of exploring Notre Dame through this project is more than just a visual journey—it’s an invitation to step into the cathedral, hear its echoes, and feel its ethereal presence.

“Creating that connection between sound and space was incredibly rewarding,” Khurana said. “Seeing how readers brought their own experiences and memories into their engagement with the piece—it was more than we ever expected.”