Dorma Ensures John Lewis HQ Is Fit For Heavy Foot Traffic

At the London headquarters of one of the UK’s most successful brands, the specification of materials during the upgrade of their reception area and main entrance had to meet the company’s exceptionally high standards. With a daily footfall of 7000 people, high performance automatic doors from industry leader DORMA were specified to offer durability, robustness and superior aesthetics.

As part of the renovation and remodelling of the ground floor of The John Lewis Partnership headquarters in London’s Victoria by main contractor ITC Concepts Ltd, the architects Bamber and Reddan designed an entrance which would not only give a positive first impression and clear statement of the company’s image but would also allow a smooth flow of traffic. Ideal for high-frequency entrances where space is at a premium, DORMA RST-R Automatic Space-Saving Door met the brief and offered the client the desired aesthetics.

‘We needed a solution which could give us the maximum clear opening width and operate as swiftly as possible to their maximum width,’ commented Michael McDonnell, B + R Architects. ‘The sheer volume of JLP Partners, visitors and suppliers with samples entering and exiting the building at peak times meant we needed a compact and fast acting solution which could be retrofitted into a constrained opening which had minimum head clearance already. The DORMA RST automatic space-saving doors with their unique pivot and location of head gear made them the ideal solution to a complex problem.’

With the main entrance being kept operational for the daily footfall of around 7,000 people into the much larger reception area, both the new automated main entrance doors and inner lobby entrance doors had to be installed outside of normal working hours so that all areas were left in a condition to receive the usual daily visitors each morning.

DORMA’s RST features a unique operating method that allows the door to provide an opening nearly as wide as the clear structural opening width itself. This is achieved by a swivel movement where the pivot centres are located off-centre, above and below the door opening, resulting in the doors first swinging open and then moving sideways – all contained in a minimum sweep area.

DORMA RST space-saver doors are available in standard sizes ready to install, or as customised units to suit individual requirements. There is a choice between elegant fine-framed system with “all-glass” look and a rugged aluminium frame system. The RST, which helps meet Approved Document M requirements, can also be used on emergency escape routes as it is possible to open the doors like a normal hinged door in an emergency.

Once again, DORMA has ensured its access products help clients achieve the exceptional quality finish expected, and for which The John Lewis Partnership is renowned.

For more information please visit https://www.dorma-uk.co.uk. All DORMA products are backed up by a nationwide team of service and maintenance engineers.