The Ri.MED Foundation with registered offices in Palermo, Sicily, was established in 2006 and comprises the following founder-members: the Presidency of the Italian Council of Ministers, the Presidency of the Region of Sicily, the Italian National Research Center, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). Ri.MED’s goal is to directly and indirectly promote, support and carry out research projects and programs in the field of biotechnology, particularly with a view to the possibility of transferring the results to the field of clinical medicine.
In support of this goal the Foundation has just launched an International Design Competition, aimed at architectural and engineering organizations, to secure the preliminary design for a Biomedical Research and Biotechnology Center to be built near the town of Carini, which is just outside Palermo, Sicily. The site is a rural green-field site of 16 hectares, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. It is anticipated that the building will be a minimum of 25,000 gross square meters and it is expected that construction will commence in early 2013. UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh will be providing laboratory design services and technical support for the project. There will be a cash prize for the winner of the design competition. Also, if suitably qualified, the winner will be invited to complete the design and undertake site supervision services. Interested parties can discover more about the project and Ri.MED on the Foundation’s web site home page at www.fondazionerimed.com.
