For the Toronto branch of international marketing firm J Walter Thompson, a door was needed to provide after hours security for their office on the the 11th floor of 160 Bloor Street. The otherwise open concept space was directly accessible from the elevator lobby.
This suite was part of a much larger project by international construction company Turner. Turner was in charge of overhauling 6 floors of the Bloor St location according to designs of architecture firm HOK. Dynamic Closures was commissioned to create a custom security door for the space. Our partner, Dynamic Closures Ontario, handled the project management and execution for the entire door installation.
The door itself was not particularly challenging to construct. It was a Lift Ready Portcullis with a built in electrical system to open and close the doors at a push of a button. Additional sleeves on every rod added to the contemporary look of the door, maintained consistent spacing for the rods, and provide a more substantial look. The door was about 10 feet high, but coils away invisibly into a ceiling pocket when not in use.
Getting There Is Half the Fun
As it turned out, however, this particular door would require some very special logistics for delivery to the location, as it would not fit in any of the high rise’s freight elevators. Weighing about 800 pounds (including the crate), it was too long and heavy to be simply carried up the stairs.
The solution was to use a crane to lift the door through the 11th story window to the installation site. This required almost four weeks of lead time to secure the necessary permits from the City of Toronto. Some of these included authorization to close the road so the crane could be used. Also, personnel from the hydro company supervised to ensure no damage to overhead wires. A window glass company had to be called in to take out the window in advance and to remain on standby to replace it once the craning operation was through. Police supervision was needed for the entire 5 hours to redirect traffic and ensure that bystanders didn’t get too curious and put themselves in danger.
On The Big Day
The craning operation began in the morning, and was carried out seamlessly. The site was prepared and the lifting began on schedule.
Once the crane had lifted the crate up to the 11th floor, the rest of the installation team stepped in to help guide the crate through the window and onto the electric lift that would maneuver the door into position.
Once the door arrived at the location, mounting the door was fairly easy, as all Dynamic Closures doors are designed for smooth installation.
From beginning to end, the installation took 2 days to execute. Gerry Dent of Dynamic Closures Ontario was supervising. “We had done similar jobs before, but normally we don’t work at this kind of elevation, with the exception of our CN Tower project.” he commented.
A Seamless Part of the Workplace Environment
Today, the door is still rolling smoothly for the end users, and the employees can focus on their daily challenges without worrying about after hours security. They probably aren’t even aware of the level of effort it took to get their door into place.
While a craning operation is almost never needed for the installation of a security door, it’s good to know that the team at Dynamic Closures Ontario has the expertise to handle a project of this magnitude. Whether your door or installation needs are simple or complex, Dynamic Closures can be relied on to deliver – even if we have to close an entire city street to do it!
If you have questions about any stage of your project, contact our Customer Support team. They specializing in assisting architects with all phases of their projects.
