At the Grand Arcade shopping centre in Cambridge, the upgrade of two main customer entrances had to meet exceptionally high performance standards. Specified to improve internal comfort levels for customers and reduce energy costs for retailers, a series of automatic swing doors from industry leader DORMA proved the perfect solution.
Designed by architects Chapman Taylor and built by Coulson Building Group, the £220 million Grand Arcade originally opened in 2008. With concerns about heat loss from the premises, owners Universities Superannuation Scheme re-appointed Coulson to install two new entrances – featuring toughened glass and DORMA ED 250A automatic closers to minimise energy loss.
Taking just two weeks to complete – with all works completed out of hours between 11pm and 6am – the specification and installation of DORMA ED250A has helped to improved thermal performance and functionality whilst retailers’ energy bills will be significantly reduced.
“DORMA ED250A automatic swing doors were chosen because of their high performance standards and installation options,” said Robert Addison, Assistant Project Manager at Coulson Building Group. “The doorsets have been well received and generated large amounts of praise – with members of the public even stopping to congratulate the team on a successful, trouble free installation.”
As part of its energy saving product features to reduce environmental impact, the DORMA ED 250A is the only automatic swing door operator with integrated wind-load capabilities; it automatically recognises and compensates for wind loads up to 150 N – making it the ideal solution for the busy and prestigious Grand Arcade.
The ED 250A has a long life cycle, (tested to 1,000,0000 cycles), and a low noise electromechanical operator – important in a building with a heavy traffic flow, while the Wind Load Control is integral to the door’s correct functioning on external doors. Suitable for doors with a weight of up to 250kg and a width of 1600mm, DORMA also provides an easy-to-install integrated door coordinator for double leaf doors.
In addition, the DORMA ED 250 is CE marked, and fully tested and compliant with multiple UK and International standards. Providing secure and reliable operation in line with the client’s demands and legal responsibilities, they also offer ease of access for all building users in line with Approved Document M.
Suitable for internal and external doors, both single and double leaf, the ED 250 swing door operators are designed as part of DORMA’s elegant Contur range. Supplied to the Grand Arcade in a bronze anodised aluminium finish, other finishes are available to offer a contemporary, unobtrusive design which is impressively compact suiting all environments and interior designs.
As one of the most demanding internal environments with constant traffic flow, retail facilities present a number of specification challenges for every architect. With the specification of DORMA ED250A swing door operators, the installation has helped to deliver improved thermal performance alongside safe and reliable access at this landmark retail facility.
