Bristol UWE University
dormakaba has supplied the University of the West of England with high security mechanical locking systems for its new Faculty of Business and Law building. The specification of the Kaba 20 and Kaba Quattro plus ranges for the new £55 million state-of-the-art project, continues a relationship that spans over 40 years.
Jenny Ford, Security Systems Officer at UWE commented: “I have never had any doubt when it comes to the use of dormakaba systems – I would recommend the company to anyone in the education sector considering an upgrade in their security locking. I know that I can trust them to deal with any query I have or piece of advice I need.”
Catering for over 28,000 students and 3,000 members of staff, the Bristol-based University of the West of England is one of the UK’s most desirable universities. Located on the Frenchay Campus, the new Faculty of Business and Law Building comprises two showcase law courts, a city trading room, a 300-seat lecture theatre, two Harvard lecture theatres and technology-enhanced active learning classrooms.
Having supplied Mechanical Key systems previously for the UWE site, dormakaba was the first choice when it came to a mechanical locking system for the new building. The Kaba 20 and Quattro plus Master Key systems allow selected keys to open a number of pre-defined doors and are compatible with a variety of locks. The Faculty of Business and Law Building has had over 500 new dormakaba cylinders installed in Kaba 20 and Kaba Quattro plus ranges.
For the estates and security teams at UWE, the master key system allows quick access to all rooms to aid fast evacuation. With individuals in possession of a single master key to unlock all doors, it also ensures a lower number of keys remain in circulation. The flexibility of the system means it can also evolve with UWE - helping to futureproof the installation.
Kaba 20 and Quattro plus locking systems’ high security characteristics made them the ideal choice, suitable for heavy usage and featuring a 22mm Round Profile cylinder, the 22 pin, radially-arranged pin tumblers allow for a robust solution, which complies with a high security standard.
Quattro plus was specified as it also includes protection against bumping, picking and drilling, by incorporating additional pins within a reinforced steel cylinder core. In addition, the Quattro plus provides greater flexibility to UWE by benefitting from an interchangeable modular core system. This allows the cylinder core to be inserted into a range of locking solutions including camlocks, keyswitches and padlocks to the more traditional cylinder shapes.
dormakaba’s keys demonstrate a high level of copy protection due to the complexity of the lock cylinder. Pins within the cylinder are aligned to fit the unique permutation image of the key. As such, positions are milled onto the side and edge of the key, with protrusions added to disguise this image further.
The introduction of the mechanical locking systems at the Faculty of Business and Law Building is testament to the collaborative and strong relationship between UWE and dormakaba. Underpinning this has been a service contract, helping to ensure the long lasting operation of all products.
With the Kaba 20 and Quattro plus taking their place alongside the ED100 and ES200 door operators already in situ within the campus buildings, UWE is an exemplar project when it comes to benefit-ting from dormakaba’s comprehen-sive portfolio, specialist knowledge, technical support and service. With the merger of Dorma and Kaba into dormakaba, UWE benefits by working with a single point of contact for all of their door and access requirements.