The City of Justice

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Civil architecture · Year: 2013 · Authors: Magüi González, José Antonio Sosa, Miguel Santiago

The group of buildings that make up the City of Justice of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria came to clearly connect two population centres of the capital which, despite their proximity, seemed very far from each other: the Vega de San José and Vegueta. 

The City of Justice complex covers almost 90,000 square metres and concentrates the judicial offices of all existing jurisdictions in the judicial district of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: courts of instruction, criminal, social, civil, contentious-administrative, special (Juvenile, Prison Surveillance, Violence against Women, and Commercial), as well as all Sections of the Provincial Court and Public Prosecutor’s Office, in addition to the Exclusive Civil Registry of the District.

The entire architectural unit is the work of the collaboration of architects Magüi González, José Antonio Sosa, and Miguel Santiago, winners of an international competition held in 2004 for this purpose.

Under the principle that "The image of the building should respect and develop the urban potential in a functional way, but also in a friendly and close manner to the inhabitants of the locality as well as to the users," the complex is developed through four independent buildings raised on a common three-storey plinth, designed under criteria of sustainability, natural lighting, and triple circulation (public, detainees, restricted). 

It is an architecture of variable profile, rhythmic, whose irregular peaks and shoots reduce the scale to adapt to a residential environment of different heights. A configuration organised by jurisdictions, but ordered with articulated elements with some independence that fit within the urban fabric (public spaces, pedestrian paths, street, and inner courtyards) forming with them a unique structure.

The minimalist aesthetic naturally assimilates the outline but, undoubtedly, its particularity, aesthetic quality, and functionality make the group of buildings a landmark of the best architecture in Las Palmas. 

The City of Justice was completed in 2013. Its construction was an important factor in the urban regeneration of the entire area.

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