ASSA
ABLOY Security Doors, a UK division of ASSA ABLOY, the global leader in door
opening solutions, has supplied the National Gallery of Ireland with security,
ballistic and fire rated doorsets, for the refurbishment of a 150-year-old
listed building.
The
National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin has had extensive refurbishment and
modernisation of its historic wings on Merrion Square. The building also
required an updated fire safety plan, from which followed the need to install
new security and fire rated doorsets, complete with locking systems.
The
extensive refurbishment came in at close to €30 million, in order to restore
the building to its former glory and meet today’s high fire safety and security
standards.
For this
prestigious project, the doorsets were specified by Henegan Peng Architects and
then ASSA ABLOY Security Doors worked closely with Modubuild, a specialist
trade contractor, alongside main contractors John Paul Construction to fulfill
the specification.
Approximately
30 steel doorsets, including a mixture of LPS 1175 security rating and fire
rated glass doorsets, were delivered to the Dargan and Milltown Wings in
Merrion Square in order to maintain maximum security as well as adhere to the
strictest fire safety regulations.
Logistically,
the delivery of the doorsets presented some challenges as the National Gallery
of Ireland is in Dublin’s busy city centre. Similarly, solutions had to be
carefully chosen to meet the unique demands of the listed building. However,
these needs were taken into consideration at an early stage to ensure the
project ran smoothly.
Sean
Rainbird, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, explained: “For the
first time the gallery has an integrated system of lighting, heating and
security. It’s very much state of the art; we’ve been able to specify really
good technical equipment.”
James
Blanchfield, Pre-Contracts Manager for Ireland and Mainland Europe at
Modubuild, a Trade Partner of ASSA ABLOY Security Doors said: “We pride
ourselves on working very closely with our customers to understand their
specific requirements and to provide specialist and tailored solutions.
“Doorsets
for this particular project had to be fully compliant to achieve the latest
standards and meet the specialist needs of each situation. Factors to consider
included fire, acoustics, air tightness, high-security and pressure
resistance.”
Stephen Wilkinson, Area Sales Manager for ASSA ABLOY Security
Doors, added: “We had to ensure that the doorsets we were supplying were of the
highest security rating as per the customer’s specifications. In addition to
this, doors had to be certified to meet strict fire standards and our locking
solutions had to include panic hardware as well as access control systems.”
