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Ex Manifattura Tabacchian urban overview

Bari is a medium size city and it’s urban morpho-logy clearly reveals the historical evolution. A medieval dens tissue and the regular grid of the ‘800 represents the main historic center, closed to the main monumental S-E waterfront.

Even though the urban tissue appears uniform and regular, it’s identity shows two completely opposite inner realities. One is full of services, offices and cultural activities, while the other one

it’s just a mono-functional residential area with a few facilities and multiethnic inhabitants.

The ex Manifattura Tabacchi it’s an oversized block standing in the so-called Libertà nei-ghborhood, so closed to the city center, but still so full of local needs.

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Libertà neighborhood

no facilitieshigh dense residential area

monofunctional area

Main center

dense of services

mixed used area

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The building of Manifattura Tabacchi stands on a 150x200 mt rectangular area, on the track of the old road ‘San Giorgio’ that led to the town of Bitritto. The block is bounded by four roads: Via Nicolai, Via Ravanas, via Crisanzio, Via Libertà.

In the internal court and at the entrance by Via Ravans as well, there are two gardens. Once the second one was used as open air cinema

called “Arena Giardino”.The building has been designed in order to satisfy needs related to tobacco manufacturing activities (security for workers and products control).

This inaccessibility defines it as an introvert organic architectural organism.

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From the outside, the Old Manifattura shows itself as an unreachable place when it is closed.

The thick gratings were installed since the beginning because the owners wanted to avoid that “even only one cigarette could be passed outside”.

Built in 1906 in order to supply to the economic crisis, the Manifattura became soon a symbol of urban growth as the Theater Petruzzelli and the

New Harbour.

The central three storeys block built in 1906 was enlarged between 1913 and 1916 with the perimetral builings along Via Nicolai, Via Crisanzio and Via Ravanas and with the back curtain facing Via Libertà.

The new buildings shaped the future urban assessment of the area: 15 meter wide roads, water supply network, drainage system and

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railways were built in order to support products’ transportation.

The industrial activity was suspended in 1975: the building was abandoned and all the activities were relocated in the New industrial zone according to the new urban plan edited by L. Quaroni.

The area of the Manifattura was thus identified as suitable for housing services considering the high demand of equipment for the huge neighborhood (Libertà- Marconi-San Girolamo 60.000 inhab).

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In 1983 the National Ministry of Finances transfered the building to the Municipality of Bari , that in this way was able to renovate the central core and transform the ground floor into food market (2000).

The first floor was ceded to the Justice department for Mafia trials (rooms for judges, meetings rooms, bunker rooms, archives, hygienic services), moreover the entrance block (via Ravanas) was dedicated to journalists,

police forces and lawyers (hygienic services and telephones too).

The backside block (via Libertà) and the other floors were firstly given for a short period to Politecnico (9 years) with the purpose to relocate some Architecture classes. Then the agreement decayed and the spaces were transfered to the University of Bari.

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Nowadays they are still abandoned.

Actually almost the 25% of the ground floor is occupied by the market and related services (15.000 sqm for maket, 500 sqm for offices, 300 parking lots, storages, hygienic services). While the other 75% of the area is still not used.

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Overview a cura di:Marco Degaetano

Sabrina Scaletta

in collaborazione con:Eleonora Adesso

Giorgia Lubisco