Zone 3

3

Werburgh St Dame St

Castle St

5 4

Ship St Little

Bride St Parliament St

7

1

Ship St Great

2

Stephen St Upper Dame St

3

6

South Great George’s St Exchequer St

South Great George’s St Fade St

Aungier St

Zone 3

A Palace St Gate & Dame Lane Entrance

B Arrival Pavilion & Bookshop

C Stamping Building Cafe & Roof Terrace

3

Dame St

B A

C

South Great George’s St

3A Palace St Gate & Dame Lane Entrance

The Palace St entrance is the most used and most popular access point to the Castle territory. It is the first encounter between the visitor and what is a very complex set of constructions and histories.

Dame Lane is becoming increasingly active in the city as a social hub. It is more frequently used as a means to access the Castle. The activities of the Castle have an opportunity to spill out onto the lane, by removing a contemporary boundary wall and the ordinary brick service buildings at the rear of the Stamping Building, and replacing them with more open and welcoming facilities to blur the threshold between the ordinary part of the Castle and the more formal yards to be encountered further in. This change in perception of the structure of the Castle focuses on the consolidation of the core, returning the residual and peripheral spaces back to the everyday life of the city.

This proposition envisages a transformation of the current laneway to a lively, active and engaging pedestrian street continuing through from Stags Head in Dame Court, which in the past number of years has developed as a social hub, complementing the Temple Bar district to the north of Dame St.

The objective is to increase the porosity of the precinct at this point, reinforce the Castle’s relationship with the city, and activate the laneway by orienting new attractive and welcoming facilities along the length of the lane for the extent of the Castle’s ownership. Objectives / Opportunities

•To engage this entrance more directly with the city. •To enhance and activate the laneway as an extension of the social hub further east.

Challenges

•Removal of / alterations to the contemporary boundary wall between the Stamping Building and Palace St Gate will require careful consideration, so as to ensure that the site can be locked securely when required.

EXISTING APPROACH TO THE CASTLE VIA DAME LANE

3B Arrival Pavilion & Bookshop

Without a reference point or welcome at the Palace St Gate, the visitor becomes easily confused and distracted. A focal point is required to orientate the visitor, provide them with options regarding what to see, and to help them plan a visit, take refreshments, store bags, buy books, guides and tickets, and generally set down before setting out on a the visit proper. This entrance facility will complement the reconfigured visitor facility currently contained in the south range of the Upper Castle Yard.

The objective is to provide a good orientation point at the start of the visitor journey through the Castle grounds and to establish a welcome point immediately inside the precinct as a locus for the beginning of tours and to avoid visitor confusion.

Objectives / Opportunities

•To create legible and flexible visitor welcome facilities at the

Palace St Gate entrance.

•To provide a recognisable starting point for visitors. •To dissolve the boundary edge between the Castle precinct and the city, where possible and appropriate. •To provide a clearer introduction point. •To provide a facility that explains the entire precinct. •To further enhance the character and quality of Dame Lane.

Challenges

•Avoiding interference with the existing conference facilities within the Stamping Building. •Ensuring the security of the Castle complex during “lockdowns”.

INITIAL CONCEPT PROPOSAL FOR THE ARRIVAL PAVILION, AS VIEWED ON APPROACH VIA DAME LANE

PROPOSAL FOR NEW RETAIL AND VISITOR FACILITIES ON DAME LANE Dame Lane Lower Castle Yard

Palace St

3C Stamping Building Cafe & Roof Terrace

What is commonly known as the Stamping Building currently houses some fine centrally located and easily accessible conference facilities. These facilities can expand in the future.

This initial proposal sees cafe and restaurant facilities that combine a visitor experience with a unique, comfortable-to-use vantage point facing west over the Castle precinct. A lift and stairs independent of the current vertical circulation at the Stamping Building is proposed, accessed from the new Arrival Pavilion fronting on to Dame Lane. These new facilities can complement the existing conference facilities at the site.

Objectives / Opportunities

•To complement the existing conference offering at the site. •To provide a new visitor experience and overview of the Castle precinct.

Challenges

•Planning permission may be a challenge in the context of the existing Castle precinct.

PROPOSED BANQUETING FACILITIES ON ROOF OF THE PRINTWORKS, ACCESSED FROM BALCONY / TERRACE

SKETCH OF PROPOSED ADDITION OF BANQUETING FACILITIES ON THE ROOF OF THE PRINTWORKS