Sonoco-Alcore Donates to Italian Earthquake Relief Effort

Sonoco-Alcore S.a.r.l., Brussels, Belgium, has donated paper cores to the City of Camerino, Italy, in coordination with Shigeru Ban Architects to build its Paper Partition System (PPS) as a temporary housing solution in areas recently affected by earthquake.

 

When large-scale disaster occurs, many victims are forced to live in evacuation facilities. This often means sleeping on the floor side by side, with minimal privacy. To overcome this issue, Shigeru Ban developed simple paper partitions using Sonoco’s paper tubes as structural frames, with curtains hanging from the tubes for privacy.

 

"Housing is a basic human need," said Adam Wood, VP of Sonoco Industrial International. "We are humbled to be a part of this relief effort, and we hope that the small part we play can help those affected by this tragedy."

 

This housing was first developed and constructed in response to natural disasters in Japan, and this marks the first time the PPS has been built outside of that country. Shigeru Ban hopes that these structures will be used to promote privacy and hygiene in disaster relief efforts across the world.

 

Sonoco-Alcore S.a.r.l. is wholly owned by Sonoco, Hartsville, S.C., USA, and operates 29 tubes and cores plants and four paperboard mills in Europe, including the company's largest European uncoated recycled paperboard mill in Cirie, Italy.