A £100m regeneration project at a leisure and retail complex in Dorset, Brewery Square in Dorchester, is using overhead transom closers from Alpro. They are a means of hydraulically controlling the opening and closing of aluminium doors. They are in use at main entrances to the site besides on frontages for shops, boutiques, cafes and restaurants.
The transom units can have light, medium or heavy spring strengths to suit type of usage, with a 90 degree hold-open option. Transom overhead door closers are designed to be contained within the transom header bar of the door. This concealed operation lends itself to period architecture such as the heritage sections of Brewery Square which date from the 1880s.
Keith Parry, Divisional Sales Manager at Alpro, said: “Given the very wide range of applications at Brewery Square, the fact that speed of closure on our transom units can be adjusted is proving useful to the end-user. Transom closers are well suited for installation at heritage sites since alternative options such as spring hinges and floor springs present problems in terms of lack of adjustment flexibility which is crucial for a leisure destination with a wide visitor profile.”
The Alpro transom closers at Brewery Square were installed by Denval Co Limited, Cardiff-based fabricator and installer of architectural aluminium, curtain walling, windows and doors. The main civils project has been overseen by principal contractor Leadbitter Group.
About the site
Denval are negotiating to secure phase two of the project with the Brewery Square Development Company which is due to start in the spring of 2014. Brewery Square features a multi-jet fountain, an ice rink and a big-screen television which is used to show films and sporting events. The complex is on the site of a former Victorian brewery whose main building is set to be turned into a four-star hotel and spa. There are 45 shops and terraced restaurants around Brewery Square as well as an Odeon Cinema in the adjoining Dray Horse Yard. The design is by CZWG Architects and Conran & Partners.
Future phases of the project by developer the Brewery Square Development Company will include replacement of the old Dorchester South railway station with the UK’s first solar-powered railway hub and a new 400-seat theatre. Downton Abbey writer and local resident Julian Fellowes is campaigning to have the theatre named after Dorchester’s most famous son, novelist Thomas Hardy, who once worked for the original Victorian architects responsible for the brewery building.
About Alpro
Alpro are based in Poole, Dorset. The range of access control and door hardware products includes deadlocks, deadlatches, cabinet locks, shearlocks, cylinders, transom door closers, waterproof keypads, and infrared proximity switches.
