Public spaces

The Bari Justice Park: innovation, sustainability and a culture of legality

The facilities at the ‘New Judicial Centre’ will be able to accommodate 1,800 people, including staff, office workers and magistrates, resulting in a reduction in rental costs of 3.6 million euros per year and the minimisation of maintenance and operating costs

by Alessandra dal Verme, Director of the State Property Agency

2 October 2026

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2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

For years, the courts in the city of Bari have been in a state of serious disrepair. Today, the situation is changing: through the efficient organisation of state functions, confidence is being restored among citizens, along with a widespread sense of legality and sustainability.

The contract for the detailed design and construction of the new Parco della Giustizia, which is to be built in the Carrassi district of Bari, was awarded in recent days following a specific European tender, launched on the basis of the final design by Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia, drawn up following a competition organised by the State Property Agency.

10-hectare park

The project brings together four buildings set within a large park covering approximately 10 hectares, offering the public services, opportunities for social interaction and an enhanced urban environment. The park has been created on a vast former military site within the city, which had been unused and inaccessible for decades, and will be linked to Bari’s waterfront via a green corridor.

The project has been under way for two and a half years

The project is the result of collaboration between the City of Bari, the Ministry of Justice and the State Property Agency. The Ministry of Culture is also involved, as the aim is to designate the park area as a site dedicated to the ‘Culture of Justice and the Environment’. The construction phase is estimated to take approximately two and a half years from the start of works for the entire project, with the first phase – comprising the park and the building housing the Criminal Court and the Public Prosecutor’s Office – due to be completed in 19 months.

The “New Judicial Centre”

The facilities at the ‘New Judicial Centre’ will be able to accommodate 1,800 people, including staff, office workers and magistrates, resulting in a reduction in rental costs of 3.6 million euros per year and the minimisation of maintenance and operating costs.

The buildings will be constructed using next-generation technologies inspired by nZEB principles and will benefit from a smart grid capable of selecting from the various available energy sources, prioritising renewable ones. A photovoltaic system of approximately 400–450 kWp is planned for each building, totalling 1.7 MW, and technologies to reduce water consumption and materials containing recycled content will be utilised.

The roofs have been designed as ‘cool roofs’, incorporating, where possible, intensive green roofs or roof gardens, alternating with cladding elements that offer high solar reflectance; this aspect provides a further mitigating factor in temperature management. The building works will ensure that CO₂ emissions are minimised and carbon neutrality is achieved through high-energy-performance solutions. The quality of the area and the microclimate of the open spaces in this part of the city will improve thanks to a reduction in CO₂ emissions of up to 71,000 kg per year.

This marks the start of a regeneration process that will gradually extend to various state-owned sites in Bari, from the inner areas of the former barracks to the former Bonomo Military Hospital and the former Magrone Barracks, eventually leading, through a green Mediterranean landscape, to the current Palace of Justice in the Libertà district. An integrated urban strategy, agreed with the City Council, based on the sustainability criteria of the European city of the future.