From paper mill to shopping mall!

Regular readers of this blog will be aware that the paper industry has been going through a very hard time in recent years and the manufacturing sector which is "heavy industry" has suffered with mill closures and the resulting job losses. Last year, I wrote about the paper mill in Finland which has been converted into a Google datacentre:

http://justinsamazingworldatfennerpaper.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/from-paper-to-data.html

Aticarta in Pompeii - the derelict factory building

I recently came across another interesting and creative solution for what to do with a redundant paper mill, this time in Italy. The "Aticarta" paper mill is based just outside the historic and ancient city of Pompeii. Founded in 1927 the mill manufactured cigarette and filter papers, which is a specialist area of paper manufacturing. The holding company also had production at another site and so sadly, the Aticarta mill was closed in 2005.

Subsequently a co-operative including the regional government and regeneration agency purchased the site with a bold plan to regenerate the buildings as a retail destination with particular emphasis on making the project as sustainable as possible.

The former paper factory has been transformed into a modern integrated shopping centre, over two levels with 120 retail units, 12 food/restaurant outlets and 2,000 parking places. The whole project is focussed on sustainability, integration with the environment and the surrounding historic ruins and the use of  energy efficient technologies. The shopping areas and galleries, are cooled by 26 reversible Roof-Top units installed on the roof which maximize energy efficiency and compliments the sustainable development of the whole project.

Building work started in 2010 and was completed in 2012. There is 30,000m2 of space employing over 150 people.

It's an interesting and innovative solution to use a redundant factory in an environmentally sound way, especially in such a sensitive, historical cultural area as Pompeii.

...and I hope you enjoyed reading about it.

 

http://www.cclacartiera.it/

www.europoligrafico.it

Posted by Justin Hobson 11.03.2014