Hello all,
As the CN sim improvements go on, and the new plan is discussed, there is yet another issue that could be discussed.
The first analysis detected a series of parcels that do not perform well in sales and which are being improved upon -- you can check what's already done on this thread. Work is going on, and we are meeting now a series of challenges -- some will be addressed by the new CN plan, but some won't.
A good example here is parcels C.01 and C.02 in the NW corner of the city.
While we successfully transformed C.02 into the new PIO Office, taking advantage of its placement on the main Cardo Road, its closeness to the North Gate and its neoclassical façade, C.01 is a much harder parcel to redo. It sits on the corner, which means it has the city wall on two sides. This means that other than a few openings to a secondary street, its openings can only be placed at the very top, making for a large building which is mainly blind. This could work for some settings (and Yan's gallery worked there)... but it is too secluded to be a shop. Ideally, C.01 should have openings that would cross the wall so it could enjoy views of sky and sea.
Even in other parcels like newly-rebuilt C.07, and the proposed C12-A and C12-B, which are against the wall, we can play a bit with the spatial arrangement so as to disguise the enclosure of the wall, but it is always felt somewhat. And the same happens on the other side of the walls... The parcels in Stella Marina that are close to the wall do not perform as well. So we can say that there is a level of difficulty added for those building houses for the wall parcels, making one wish the 'wall wasn't there'.
So let's test what happens when the wall isn't there! Or at least, what happens if the wall is not wholly there?
These old walls in historic cities saw their purpose being emptied as times went by; in many cities, they were replaced in the 19th c. by ring roads. But often they were just absorbed by the city. A sturdy wall was helpful as you would need only to build 2 walls for your house (the 3rd and 4th wall being your neighbour's, and the city wall). As time went by, cities expanded out of their initial bounds and the defensive wall stopped having that function... but it was still there, right at hand if you wanted to grow another floor. As many walls were void, maybe you could break into that inner space as well and use it.
I want to present two examples here for this:
. my own hometown of Cascais-- check this google map view, which should be facing the right way. If not, rotate it till you see the end of the golden city wall and what is happening above it.
. a ruined tower in the Castle of Albufeira, south of Portugal. This pic is really interesting. We know that the castle was a quadrangle, with a tower on each corner. The city has grown since and we are clearly looking from outside the walls that aren't there any more -- or are they?! See how that house is perfectly stitched to the tower. At least the old walls were used as a foundation to raising the much later house.
Sudane has been testing what happens if we ruin the CN wall on the city's NW corner... here's a pic but please go and have a look!
Sudane has ruined the wall irregularly, leaving different heights on. We get a very interesting broken line on the remaining wall, instead of the somewhat rigid whole wall. You can also see how parcels C.01, C.03 and C.04 would immediately benefit from having another façade, which can exist on the present configuration, or the house can spill over the wall, like the house in Cascais. We can envision as well that, as houses are anchored in the city, that depth of 4m could be added to the parcels instead. If the CN plan is approved, Sudane will do the necessary adjustments to parcels and Casper, and it would a good time to do the wall changes as well.
And also, we think we can keep some extensions of wall. Democracy Wall, the city gates, and the flaming towers for sure would keep. The enclosed garden at the Thermae is also an interesting place, and could keep as well -- but maybe it could be interesting also to have an arched opening looking over the Theatre. Decisions would be made on place.
Looking forward to hearing what you all think! 
