Unique buildings for the justice system

This very special building was designed as a single location for all the different judicial offices and courts of Valencia.

It contains the trial and hearing courts for the various criminal, civil and social jurisdictions, jury deliberation and retiring areas, jails, storerooms, filing and parking facilities, and related services such as the Civil Registry Office, the Public Prosecutor's Office, bar associations, the Legal Medicine Institute, a wedding hall and coffee shops.


The building has got two underground storeys, each with an area of some 21,000 m2, and some 72,000 m2 of floor area above ground. Underneath the building are all the areas not intended for public use, the parking facilities, the storerooms, filing rooms, physical plants, and so on, plus the technical and complementary services. All in all, there are 114,000 m2 of floor space. On the main building's ground floor is the general entrance and the services that receive the heaviest use (the Civil Registry Office, the auditorium, the press room, the coffee shop, the hearing courtrooms and the waiting areas). On the five upper floors are all the trial courtrooms, and on the roof are the heating and cooling machinery, power transformers and power generators.

The really defining characteristic of the building is the size of its atrium, which is some 200 metres long, 18 metres wide and 30 metres tall, although it seems even larger because of the building's huge glass front wall and skylight.

Then there is what is called "the 24-hour Building", due to the fact that it is in constant use. Following the same criteria as in the main building, here too the ground floor is for the more often-solicited services: the wedding hall, the bar associations and the main doors. The upper storeys are reserved for administrative offices and courtrooms.