The castle approaches

  Despite the size of the fort, the perception we have of it from the outside is very often limited to side views at very close range. Apart from the Musée de Normandie, partly set on the curtain wall, on the south side, there are no elements of the enclosure to be seen over the top.

  To the north, the University is designed to a strict grid layout with the main axis extended by the Esplanade de la Paix, which is now a disused car park from which the castle is barely visible. This spot is to be reorganised by breaking the esplanade area into two distinct parts forming a gradual progression, one directly extending out from the University, the other offering a transition to the more natural castle setting. The recent embankment, landscaping and thuya hedges cluttering up the counter-guard are to be removed to uncover the remains of the keep’s north curtain from outside the enclosure.

  Prior to the bombing raids of 1944, the Rue de Geôle, west of the castle, was a rather narrow street, with houses on either side that were demolished after 1945. This street then became a major four-lane thoroughfare with gentler bends. The street’s layout is due to change with the current project for collective transport along a reserved lane, taking into account the directions set by projects to enhance the castle, for there is a huge problem of scale between the castle and the urban fabric on this side.
The space between the street and the castle deserves to be redeveloped to hide the existing parking area behind a retaining wall, with the structure of the old quarter as it was up until 1945 marked out on the ground. The moat, uncovered by archaeological probes, would be dug out slightly to provide a pedestrian walk at the foot of the rampart.

  On the south side, prior to the bombing, there were blocks of houses right up to the edge of the moat. This area now looks like steeply sloping public parkland with plantations generating spaces that are ill-suited to getting a good view of the castle and its main entrance.
The project proposes to reorganise this space with maximum reference to the history of the quarter as it was prior to 1945; this involves restoring the parvis of St Pierre’s church and the small withdrawal square in front of the barbican, eliminating any tall vegetation, and marking out the destroyed buildings on the ground. The building of a lift from the moat up to this small square in front of the barbican would allow mobility impaired persons to access the castle from the Rue de Geôle carpark or from the underground carpark.
The Avenue du 6 Juin is the only place from which the castle can be seen from any distance, hence the plans to prolong the visual effect with a paved climb up to the St Pierre barbican.

  On the east front, the fort’s original defensive aspect is the one best set off, with the curtain wall, towers and drawbridge gateway all preserved. There are no suggestions for changes on this side, apart from restoration of the one tower not treated in the fifties, calibration of the Porte des Champs barbican moat and repairs to the drawbridge.
The existing carpark near the barbican is to be redeveloped to take coaches so as to encourage tourists to discover the castle from the east side. In the long run, as parking requirements are worked out in line with the cultural activity at the site, an underground carpark under the undeveloped block south of the Champs barbican could provide 200 spaces with no modification to the way things now look. This parking area could be directly linked to the castle via a lift placed in the volume of the only tower yet to be restored.
In a general way, vehicle parking is arranged outside the enclosure, with the exception of a small carpark handy for customers of the restaurant, imposed by the programme, and concealed under existing trees along the east rampart to the north.

  Alongside the development plan for the preservation and enhancement of Caen Castle, further surveys of documentation and archaeological research have been arranged and are destined to continue.