Case StudyA 25-foot custom security door for Holt Renfrew

Dynamic Closures’ tallest door ever, built to match the prestige of the luxury retailer’s new store at Square One in Mississauga.

OverviewSecurity to match a flagship store

As part of its recent expansion, Holt Renfrew is opening a new store in the new southern expansion of the Square One mall in Mississauga. Naturally a security door would be needed, but it would have to match the style and prestige of the location. To provide that, Dynamic Closures would have to build its tallest door ever: 25 feet in height.

Feet tall, the tallest door Dynamic Closures has ever built

1,000

Pounds of door hanging from a single ceiling track

Installers on site, plus an electric lift and a scissor lift

The challengeChallenging new features

The door chosen by IBI Group Architects, Toronto (Janson Goldstein LLP, NY, principal architect) was a StarLight 126 Straight Pattern. There were a few custom modifications, like the addition of heavy duty sleeves on all the rods for a sleek look.

The extra height raised three engineering questions: how to carry the weight, how to lock a door this tall from arm height, and how to prove it would still run smoothly decades from now.

Weight

Durability

Like many of our security doors, this one is designed to hang from a track in the ceiling. The extra height meant extra weight, about 1,000 pounds of it. To keep the essential Dynamic Closures durability and smooth performance decades into the future, a special grade of stainless steel was used on the upper fasteners to carry the load.

Security

Locking

A door this tall needs an upper and lower lock to stay securely in place, and the client supplied a special high security cylinder lock to work into the design. Reinforced locking posts handle the extra weight, and the rod inside them that operates the mechanism uses a special alloy that keeps its strength while staying easy to move. The top lock control is still at arm height, so no one has to go up a ladder twice a day in their designer heels.

Quality

Testing

Dynamic Closures has a comprehensive 6-step design and testing process. Rapid-cycle testing simulates decades of opening and closing in days, and we test to failure so we know exactly how much weight our hanger and fastener materials can take. Every door, especially a custom one with added height and weight, is set up and operated by real people on our shop floor before it ships.

Tested on the shop floorOpens and closes easily, with no motorized assistance

By the time the door arrived at the installation site, we knew it matched specifications perfectly and would not present problems for retail store staff. In spite of the incredible size and weight of the door, it opens, closes and locks easily by hand.

InstallationSix people, two lifts and a custom pallet

The additional weight and height of the door meant a larger team was needed for installation: six people plus an electric lift and a scissor lift.

Because the door was so tall, it needed additional reinforcement for transportation and installation. Once hung in place the weight would be evenly distributed, but getting it there called for a custom support framework.

Step 1

Custom pallet and platforms

We built a custom pallet and platforms to support the door and keep it contained for rotation and lifting into place. The entire installation could be done with the support on, so everything stayed together.

Step 2

Lifted into position

Standard construction lifts carried and positioned the door with the custom support framework still attached.

Step 3

Hung from the top track

After the door was hung from the top track, the palleting was removed and the weight settled evenly along the track.

Step 4

Pocket adjustments

Once the door was in place, we did some additional work on the pocket in the walls, which had not been built to allow room for track and roller lubrication from within the enclosed area.

DesignSecurity can be chic too

The Square One Mall south extension is known for its high-end designer stores and luxury services to match. The space is very open and full of natural light, with every architectural detail reinforcing the feeling of affluence that makes shoppers want to spend on big-ticket items.

These days, store branding extends all the way to after-hours security enclosures. They not only have to fit with the look and feel of the space, they need to entice after-hours window shoppers to return and make purchases. Everything about the store needs to fulfill the mandate of product presentation.

Dynamic Closures has a wide variety of visual options that can be custom tailored to almost any space. If you’re designing a retail space and are wondering about the options, our main product line is just the tip of the iceberg. Our Customer Support team is highly experienced in dealing with the needs of architects and interior designers.

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