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São Paulo, September 3, 2019 - Rhodia, a company of the Solvay Group, along with a group of clients and partners, invested in the construction of a children and youth public library next to the Down Syndrome Foundation in Barão Geraldo, Campinas. The construction incorporates materials from renewable sources, including the wood frame construction system, which utilizes precast panels of reforested wood, and high-pressure laminates.
This marks the first public library built by the private sector in the Campinas region and is the first public facility in South America constructed using the wood frame system, which employs industrially treated wood.
The library, designed by architects Roseana Monteiro and Elton Casarin, is part of Mostra+Sustentável, an annual event that brings together architecture and landscaping, art and interior design, gastronomy, and education, aiming to promote sustainable development and social responsibility. The Mostra always benefits a private, non-profit institution with a significant social impact and recognized management.
The decorated exhibition spaces are designed with the inclusion of sustainable techniques, concepts, and products. All work done serves as a permanent legacy for the assisted institution.
Under the leadership and curatorship of engineer and social entrepreneur Fernando Caparica, the 2019 Mostra will run from September 4 to October 13 at the Down Syndrome Foundation, located at Rua José Antonio Marinho, 430, Barão Geraldo district, in Campinas. The main theme is "Vila 21" (a reference to the number of chromosomes 21 present in individuals with Down Syndrome) and will feature two residential nuclei, a commercial nucleus, and various squares, totaling around 40 environments in an area of approximately 3,500m².
Legacy for the institution and the community - According to Daniela Manique, President of the Solvay Group in Latin America, supporting initiatives that combine sustainability and social responsibility is part of the company's history in Brazil and worldwide.
"Throughout our successful business trajectory in Brazil, which is celebrating 100 years in 2019, we have deepened roots in the communities where we have industrial and commercial presence. We take great pride in our history because our purpose remains the same: to produce sustainable chemistry, valuing renewable resources, using non-renewable resources responsibly, and respecting communities. All of this to ensure a better planet for future generations," says Daniela Manique.
The company has always believed - and continues to believe - in Brazil's growth potential. "Therefore, we have made investments in factories, in the development of technologies, innovative and sustainable products, in our employees and partners, and in relationships with communities. Our legacy is the reference we use to continue growing in the country," adds the President of the Solvay Group in Latin America.
Since 2011, Rhodia has been part of the Solvay Group, one of the largest international companies in the advanced materials and chemicals sectors, strongly committed to sustainability.
Innovative and sustainable products - In addition to helping build the library, which will leave a permanent legacy for the Down Syndrome Foundation and can be used by the institution's attendees and the community at large, Rhodia, along with some clients and partners such as Casarin Monteiro Arquitetura, STAMADE, MG Homes, SOMAPAR, Pertech, and EcoSimple, is also supporting the Mostra+Sustentável.
Among Rhodia's products used in both the library and Mostra environments are the chemical intermediates of the phenol chain used in resins for industrially treated wood. Examples include the wood frame industrial construction system and high-pressure decorative laminate coatings, composed of multiple layers of overlapping kraft paper and decorative paper impregnated with resins.
"The phenol chain raw materials from Rhodia enable the development of resins capable of providing a long life to various projects with industrially treated wood, providing characteristics such as resistance to moisture, salt air, scratches, and stains, non-proliferation of bacteria and termites, resistance to heat, vapor, etc.," says Antonio Leite, Global Vice President of Phenol and Solvents at Solvay.
Applications of specialty chemicals for decorative and residential paints and sodium carbonate (soda ash), used by glass industries for the construction market, among others, are also present at Mostra.
Additionally, the company chose Mostra+Sustentável to launch the Casa e Decoração market's first biodegradable polyamide textile thread in the world, Amni Soul Eco®, for use in upholstery and other decorative objects, in fabrics manufactured by EcoSimple. This thread is one of the many sustainable innovations recently created by Rhodia in Brazil and is now present in various consumer products.
100 years of Rhodia's presence in Brazil - Under the marks of pioneering and innovation, Rhodia, a Solvay Group company, is celebrating 100 years of activities in Brazil in 2019. The company began its successful trajectory on December 19, 1919, in Santo André - SP, with the installation of an industrial unit for chemical products, representing the first step in the industrialization of the ABC region of São Paulo. Always ahead of its time, Rhodia has provided a decisive contribution throughout this period to strengthen the chemical/textile sector and the industry in Brazil in general, with the development of technologies, processes, and products for various markets, and with a deep relationship with Brazilian society. Since September 2011, Rhodia has been part of the Solvay Group, one of the most relevant international players in advanced materials and specialty chemicals. Learn more at www.rhodia.com.br and www.solvay.com.