Hank Silver, a carpenter recounting the historic restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris as he lived it. He’s a Director’s Grant Recipient and year long fellow at the American Library in Paris, where he is writing a memoir about his remarkable experience investigating what it means to be a traditional craftsman in the modern world.
Watch for details about his upcoming event at the American Library in Paris in early 2026.
Hank Silver is an American carpenter who spent close to two years working on the restoration of the medieval roof framing of Notre-Dame de Paris. Starting with 600 oak logs, the crew hand-hewed over one thousand beams using medieval-patterned axes, reproduced the 13th-century wooden joinery, and installed the finished frame in Paris. Silver is a member of the volunteer crew, Charpentiers sans frontières (Carpenters Without Borders), whose mission is the restoration of world carpentry heritage and the transmission of the skills and techniques to future generations. Silver currently resides in France.