Bayer Italia’s headquarters opens at Mind in Milan, where health becomes an ecosystem

Rethinking the healthcare supply chain by starting afresh with the physical spaces in which to research, test and produce new medicines and launch innovative processes. With the push for extensive digitalisation now set aside, at least in part, workplaces – particularly in the life sciences sector – are once again proving as magnetic as ever. It may seem paradoxical, but in an era characterised by artificial intelligence and advanced predictive technologies, the sector has decided to put physicality back at the centre. That is, the sharing of spaces that act as catalysts for the future. An almost counter-intuitive yet necessary move to rethink shared offices and distributed laboratories, taking on new and necessarily multifaceted challenges linked to health. This is nothing new. As early as seven years ago – just a few months before the pandemic – scientific literature, particularly within the field of the Sociology of Health, was discussing ‘healing architecture’: healthcare spaces no longer viewed as mere containers, but as structures capable of influencing people’s wellbeing. A new frontier that originated in the most innovative hospitals and is now extending to laboratories, campuses and workplaces within the life sciences sector.

Thus, in Milan, in the area known as Mind – which became a melting pot of cultures eleven years ago with the Expo – there is now the largest civil construction site in Italia. A health district is taking shape here, bringing together research, healthcare, training, business and social innovation within a single space. Public and private organisations coexist here. A unique collaborative model where science, technology and business come together to shape the future: the Human Technopole, the IRCCS Galeazzi-Sant’Ambrogio Hospital, the future Science Campus of the University of Milan, the Triulza Foundation, as well as pharmaceutical companies, start-ups and research laboratories. An ecosystem that brings together expertise that is increasingly specialised and sector-specific, yet geared towards a systemic and collaborative approach.

For the past few days, the district has been enriched by the new headquarters of Bayer, a pharmaceutical giant operating in the health and agriculture sectors with 88,000 employees worldwide and a turnover of over 45 billion euros, of which 5.8 billion is allocated to research and development. A brand with a history stretching back over a century – it has been present in Italia for 125 years – which has decided to make a fresh start in a space of almost 4,000 square metres within the Horizon eco-building. A Guinness World Records-breaking skyscraper: it is the tallest wooden building in Italia. Standing 63 metres tall, the German company occupies two floors of the building, covering an area comparable to that of the Colosseum’s arena, designed to encourage cross-fertilisation between different professionals.

‘It is much more than just a change of address: it represents the Bayer of today and the direction we have chosen for the future. In this way, we are continuing our history in Milan, in a place where innovation is a defining feature. Being part of this ecosystem allows us to strengthen our dialogue with different organisations, develop new synergies and accelerate innovation initiatives. We want to contribute to the growth of this district with our expertise and our capacity for innovation,” says Arianna Gregis, Managing Director of Bayer Italia, a company that generates a turnover of around 900 million euros with 1,100 employees. Just ten kilometres separate the new headquarters from the historic production plant in Garbagnate Milanese, where 8 billion tablets were produced in 2025 alone for 33 million patients. The Horizon skyscraper incorporates wood, steel and extensive greenery. The construction solutions adopted result in a 50 per cent reduction in CO₂ emissions compared with a traditional building.

But there’s more to it than that. Here, barriers and silos are being broken down in favour of a systemic approach to health. A network within a network that encourages people to rethink the workplace in a dynamic, expansive and multifaceted way. The new headquarters supports a wider transformation of the way Bayer works, inspired by the Dynamic Shared Ownership organisational model. The aim: to make the company more agile and focused on making an impact. The model promotes autonomous, cross-functional teams, shared responsibility and decision-making processes that are more closely aligned with the needs of customers and stakeholders. It has its roots in the ‘Humanocracy’ theories developed by Gary Hamel, a lecturer at the London Business School: less bureaucracy and hierarchy, more autonomy and distributed responsibility. On this basis, Bayer, under the leadership of CEO Bill Anderson, has been developing its own version of Dynamic Shared Ownership since 2023. ‘We must put people, not structures, processes or methods, at the heart of organisations’: is Hamel’s thesis, now widely shared amongst those studying the organisational models of the new ‘compressed century’ – so termed by the founder of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, as it accelerates transformations, particularly in the fields of biology and the life sciences. In this context, the role of leadership is also evolving, becoming increasingly focused on defining a shared vision, removing obstacles and creating the conditions for individuals and teams to realise their full potential. “We have opted for an organisational model that breaks down internal silos and is centred on people, enabling decisions to be made more quickly and collaboratively,” explains Gregis.