G124 Bari – San Paolo is an urban-renewal project in the San Paolo district of Bari, Italy, developed through G124, the working group on suburbs and the future of cities founded by architect and senator Renzo Piano. 23 The Bari site was selected after discussions between G124, the municipal administration and the city’s mayor, Antonio Decaro. 2
San Paolo is a large public-housing district on Bari’s outskirts, near the Lama Balice Regional Natural Park. Built in phases beginning with a 1958 plan and later expanded through public-housing schemes, it is connected to central Bari by a light-metro line. 2 For the 2022 G124 programme, the project focused on an underused area near Via Altamura, known as Corte Don Bosco. 412
The work combined preliminary study and design with engagement with local residents, with the aim of shaping a shared transformation of the space. 412 Four young architects who graduated from the Polytechnic University of Bari received G124-funded scholarships to work on the initiative; the university’s lecturers Carlo Moccia and Francesco Defilippis were involved as tutors. 812 The project team included Tiziano De Venuto, Ezio Melchiorre, Rosa Piepoli and Giuseppe Tupputi. 610
The Polytechnic University of Bari and the Municipality of Bari formalised their collaboration on 6 May 2022. 48 The design proposed a public green space with tree planting and areas for community use. 711 G124’s wider scope is to work on urban peripheries through projects carried out by young graduates selected by participating universities. 2