DORMA plays hidden role in RIBA Stirling Prize buildings

The 2007 RIBA Stirling Prize winning building and two of the shortlisted buildings feature DORMA products throughout. On this occasion proving that in design terms, “out of sight is very much in mind”, as the main DORMA products installed are ITS96 concealed cam action door closers and BTS80 concealed floor springs.

The unobtrusive design and adaptability of the DORMA closers, combined with tried and tested reliability, was central to them being specified. There is a remarkable contrast between the interior styling and use of materials in each building involved – namely the winner, the Museum of Modern Literature, at Marbach in Germany; Portugal’s Casa da Musica in Porto; and the America’s Cup Building, at Valencia, in Spain – and the DORMA closers provided the perfect hidden solution.

The beauty of the ITS96 unit is that the overhead door closer and slide channel is so compact it can be completely concealed in the door leaf and frame – provided the door has a minimum 40mm leaf thickness and a maximum width of 1400mm – enabling the designer to retain all the inherent aesthetics of the interior.

Combine this with the unique DORMA cam action, which unlike conventional rack and pinion closers, has a unique linear drive mechanism and heart-shaped cam, so that when the door is opened the opening force falls away rapidly after the first few degrees. This results in little resistance throughout the opening cycle, and the same happens on closing – making the door much easier and safer to operate, even for children and people with physical disabilities. Indeed it complies with Approved Document M and BS8300 on door widths of just 733mm and above (ITS96, EN2-4, set to EN3, the required setting for fire doors).

Complementing the ITS96 is the BTS80 floor-concealed spring, again so compact in its design that it can be installed under the floor and remain completely unobtrusive. The coverplate is available in satin stainless steel and satin brass finishes and a wide selection of interchangeable spindles makes the BTS80 suitable for virtually any floor covering or threshold and because it is able to control exceptionally heavy single and double-acting doors, it can be incorporated into almost any application.

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