The Bicocca Pavilion, the innovation hub for urban regeneration is born

Today saw the inauguration of the Bicocca Pavilion, a new futuristic space dedicated to innovation and the enhancement of research, the result of the collaboration between the University of Milan-Bicocca and the BiM (Bicocca Incontra Milano) project. This multifunctional hub aims to connect the University’s academic excellence with the business world, creating an innovation ecosystem based on public-private cooperation.

The Bicocca Pavilion, realised with the strategic support of Cariplo Factory, will be a reference point for the development of ideas, projects, start-ups and new businesses with a high social impact. The unique structure is designed to bring together the best expertise in the field of social sciences and advanced technology (deep tech), thus promoting ‘responsible innovation’ projects.

Thanks to the venture building methodology, the Bicocca Pavilion will develop open innovation and innovative business creation projects, starting from the analysis of market needs to build start-ups from scratch. This approach, supported by the experience of Cariplo Factory, allows a higher success rate than traditional models.

The Bicocca Pavilion is part of the new BiM green square, a major urban regeneration initiative promoted by Aermont Capital and Kervis SGR, with project management by MTDM (Manifattura Tabacchi Development Management). Several major companies, including Huawei Technologies Italia, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Thales Alenia Space, Viatris, TMC Italia, DLL and Sertori, have already expressed interest in the project.

The presentation of the Bicocca Pavilion, which was held today at BiM, was attended by Guido Guidesi, Councillor for Economic Development of the Lombardy Region, Tommaso Sacchi, Councillor for Culture of the Municipality of Milan, Giovanna Iannantuoni, Chancellor of the University of Milan-Bicocca and President of MUSA – Multilayered Urban Sustainability Action Giovanni Manfredi, Managing Director Aermont Capital, Giancarlo Patri, Head of Fund and Asset Management at Kervis SGR and Riccardo Porro, Chief Operating Officer of Cariplo Factory and several other personalities from the academic world of Milan. The official opening of the building is scheduled for early 2025.

‘The creation of the Bicocca Pavilion represents a milestone in the path of promoting academic entrepreneurship and collaboration with businesses,’ said Salvatore Torrisi, Pro-Rector for Research Enhancement at the University of Milan-Bicocca. ‘This initiative is part of the MUSA Innovation Ecosystem, with the aim of stimulating innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit of researchers, students and technical-administrative staff.’

The design of the Bicocca Pavilion, signed by architecture studio Piuarch, stands out for its flexibility and functionality, meeting the highest standards of sustainability and technology. Covering an area of 800 square metres, the building will host office spaces, meeting rooms, common areas and social impact initiatives, promoting networking and the exchange of ideas among an inclusive community of students, researchers, professionals and creatives.

In addition to the physical spaces, the Bicocca Pavilion will expand its boundaries through a digital platform that will share projects and initiatives, creating a virtual meeting place for a wide community of users. With the Bicocca Pavilion, the University of Milan-Bicocca and its partners intend to inaugurate a new era of collaboration between the public and private sectors, contributing to the development of a model of innovation that can be replicated nationwide and making Italy more competitive on the international stage.

‘The University of Milan-Bicocca has started a collaboration with BiM – Where Bicocca meets Milan and with Cariplo Factory for the design of the Bicocca Pavilion, a new space destined for the valorisation of its research, in which to concentrate collaboration activities with companies and venture building,’ says Giovanna Iannantuoni. The University, also thanks to the MUSA project of which it is the lead partner, thus wants to enhance its impact on the local economy and contribute to the development of a virtuous and reproducible model of innovation at national level, to make Italy increasingly competitive on the international stage, inaugurating a new era of collaboration between the public and private sectors’.

‘Bicocca Pavilion is an important stage in a long journey that our University has undertaken to promote academic entrepreneurship and collaboration with businesses,’ notes Salvatore Torrisi. ‘This initiative is part of the MUSA Innovation Ecosystem, with the aim of bringing together a rich series of projects that the University has implemented over the years to stimulate innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit of researchers, students and technical-administrative staff. These projects, from the valorisation of intellectual property, to the scouting of new ideas with a high social impact, to alternative finance for innovation and entrepreneurial training, will find in the Bicocca Pavilion a point of aggregation and acceleration open to the economy and society”.

“I would like to thank the University for making the partnership behind this ambitious initiative possible. – comments Giovanni Manfredi, Managing Director of Aermont Capital – The creation of complex ecosystems capable of enhancing research and talent, and connecting them with local companies is a fundamental ingredient in urban regeneration processes, a best practice at international level. We hope that this will become a space open to all, where innovation can be expressed through the free exchange of ideas and business skills’.

‘The realisation of the Bicocca Pavilion is an important step within the large urban regeneration project BiM that we are carrying out with Aermont Capital and MTDM,’ says Giancarlo Patri, Head of Fund and Asset Management at Kervis SGR. ‘Thanks to the attention to detail, the use of technology at the service of energy efficiency, daily management, and the well-being of the future users of the spaces, BiM makes an important contribution to the creation of an attractive ecosystem in a modern district that is well connected to the urban context, such as Milano Bicocca.

‘The academy is the place of knowledge and research: through this ambitious project, which aims to enhance the skills and intellectual property of the university, the Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca aims, as part of its Third Mission, to make a further leap forward on the innovation front,’ explains Riccardo Porro, Chief Operating Officer of Cariplo Factory. ‘Venture building is one of the highest potential innovation models and, with the multiplication of initiatives, the Italian market is also moving towards a phase of maturity. In this context, we believe that the Bicocca Pavilion can be an effective answer both for experimenting new technology transfer mechanisms and for activating business-led innovation processes, thus enabling companies to face competitive challenges and transformational changes’.