Dorma door closers make the grade in high tech college

The toughest, most resilient and stylish door closers on the market were required for a state of the art building which has 1,000 students passing through its doors daily.  With performance and durability in mind, Rochdale’s brand new £19 million Sixth Form College called on DORMA, the global market leader of door controls, automatics, glass and movable walls, to provide reliable access with its TS 92 and TS 93 cam action door closers.  

Designed by Seven Architecture and built by main contractor Bardsley Construction, the 6 storey building is the first new Sixth Form College to be built since 2004. The college offers 8,000m² of general and specialist accommodation and includes six state of the art science labs, 160 seat theatre, dance and drama studios as well as art studios and a media lab.  This environmentally responsible building also achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating.

To provide safe and reliable closing of the numerous internal doors, Seven Architecture turned to DORMA. “We have had consistently good performance from DORMA products, having used them on several projects” commented David Dickinson of Seven Architecture. “They have always proved to be robust and of a high quality appearance making them the obvious choice for the new Rochdale Sixth Form College.”

Architectural hardware distributor Powell Hardware supplied some 244 DORMA TS 92 silver Contur slide arm closers for a mixture of single leaf, leaf and half, and double internal laminate doors and a further 4 TS 93 silver Contur slide arm closers for an external entrance at the college.

Designed to meet all security, health and safety requirements and compliance, DORMA’s TS 92 and TS 93 cam action door closers are ideal for heavily trafficked buildings. The cam action door closers were chosen due to the minimal resistance throughout the opening and closing cycle making it a much easier and safer door operation for a busy college. These easy to use and stylish closers have a built in slide arm and are fully adjustable.

The DORMA TS 93 cam action door closers feature the additional benefit of a ‘thinking back check’, the resistance of the door being opened is in direct proportion to the speed at which the door is opened.  This reduces the wear and tear on both the door and any nearby walls.  It also features ’delayed action’, a delayed closing mechanism which is particularly useful in areas of high traffic.  Both the DORMA TS 92 and TS 93 cam action door closers hold successful independent testing to BS EN 1154, and are CERTIFIRE approved for fire doors.

Now complete, Rochdale’s new Sixth Form College, funded by the Learning and Skills Council and supported in principal by the Local Education Authority, has formed an important 'gateway' into Rochdale from the south. Benefiting from DORMA renowned door closers, the building with provide a first class educational environment for the students for decades to come.