Mark Foster Gage on Gothic architecture past and present

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. [...] 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.Highlighting the one year anniversary of the disastrous fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, architect Mark Foster Gage takes us on a quick history of Gothic architecture in order to tease out the lessons this historical style can lend to contemporary architectural design.