Paddington Railway Station Lawn Area - glass, automatics and door hardware from DORMA

A range of products from DORMA has been incorporated into the refurbishment of one of the UK's best-loved railway terminals. London's famous Paddington Station has undergone a complete transformation to become a world-class travel facility and modern retail destination all rolled into one. Boasting some of the best examples of Victorian wrought ironwork, Paddington has retained its landmark features. The re-design emphasizes the quality of the existing structure and fittings while enhancing them with the best in modern design and finishes. The station's Lawn area has been redeveloped by architects Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners as a premier retail destination, and it is here that the DORMA range is being deployed. The Lawn area is fully enclosed by a 6m high glass screen and a glass ridge and furrow roof and provides passenger waiting, catering and retail facilities and the Heathrow Express check-in (designed by Gebbler Tooth Architects).

Prominent Features

Automatic sliding door operators from DORMA's ES90 range are used in the glazed screen to provide access to the Lawn. The DORMA ES90 sliding door operator is ideal for bespoke doors and features adjustable opening and closing speeds, hold open times and other operating parameters to suit the application. Also used is DORMA's HSW (Horizontal Sliding Wall) system. This enables architects to select fixed panels of operating doors that can be rolled away at will. The product was selected for retail units within the Lawn area because it combines optimum flexibility with high security and robust operation. Also installed at the Lawn is an optional version of the HSW, the FSW or Folding Sliding Wall, which provides the same function as the HSW system but can be installed up against obstacles such as pillars and adjoining walls.

At the Heathrow Express (designed by Gebbler Tooth Architects) check-in desk, the counter and surrounding fittings are all of plate glass, assembled with the DORMA Manet system to give a chic, high quality feel. It was also used to provide manual double leaf swing doors and glazed surrounds integrated within the Lawn screen. The Manet range of luxury plate glass fittings uses precision engineering and installation techniques to offer almost limitless possibilities in the design of interior glazing. At the heart of the Manet system is a flush-fitting single-point fixing. This assembly guarantees the easy fixing of glass elements and fits flush with the wall thanks to the use of countersunk holes, instead of through-holes. All components are made of stainless steel. The conical fixing sleeve and corresponding countersunk hole means the glass element is held firmly without the glass being squeezed by the fixing. This reduces stress loadings around the fixing.