The Savoy Hotel in London's Strand is, without doubt, one of the most famous hotels in the world and its 3-year, £100m refurbishment and restoration is nearing completion. Reardon Smith Architects specified 496 doorsets and 152 special head architraves from the UK’s leading performance doorset manufacturer Leaderflush Shapland – which will play their part in re-affirming the extraordinary heritage of this iconic hotel.

World-renowned interior designer Pierre Yves Rochon has developed schemes to impart new glamour and luxury, echoing the very finest of 1920s Art Deco combined with an Edwardian-inspired, classic English style, both synonymous with The Savoy.

A team of over 1000 craftsmen, artists and artisans has worked tirelessly to create the interiors including the legendary American Bar, the river front restaurant 12 authentic Art Deco guestrooms, 268 guestrooms and a 16 room royal suite.

Leaderflush Shapland supplied doorsets from their Designer and Extended Performance ranges constructed using Enduracor – an engineered performance doorset core which is both versatile and stable. In a recent independent test, EnduraCor was shown to be one hundred times more durable than multi-layered chipboard, achieving 1,000 more impacts than required by EN1192 Class 4. Doorsets were specified to meet various performance characteristics of up to 60 minutes fire resistance and sound reduction levels up to 40 RwdB with some doors having VN1 Vision panels.

Art deco style doors with applied mouldings are in stained sycamore veneer to the corridor side and painted to the room side. Traditional style doors with applied mouldings are finished in stained mahogany veneer laid to replicate a traditional joinery door and special art deco maple architraves have been stained and polished to replicate the originals that were made around 90 years ago.

Leaderflush Shapland, the UK’s largest performance door and doorset manufacturer, combines long experience and a tradition of craftsmanship with the most efficient production techniques to ensure that every hotel door meets or exceeds expectations.

Balancing the requirements for disabled access with the provision of effective barriers against smoke and fire can be very difficult.

Building designers and specifier’s clearly need to avoid creating access difficulties for disabled people and yet they must also take all steps possible to provide effective barriers against smoke and fire - safety for all is paramount.

But now, Leaderflush Shapland, the UK’s largest bespoke performance door and doorset manufacturer, has developed a unique doorset solution which will satisfy the Equality Act (previously known as the DDA) opening force requirements, whilst still complying with fire and smoke control regulations.

Approved Document B, Appendix B – Fire Safety - says that fire doors should be fitted with a self-closing device - a device which is capable of closing the door from any angle and against any latch fitted to the door. Approved document B also requires many doors to be sealed on at least the top and vertical edges to meet smoke control requirements.

However, it can be extremely difficult for wheelchair users, and for people with assistance dogs, low upper body strength or walking aids to manoeuvre through a door-opening against the force exerted by the closing device and any extra resistance exerted by seals and air pressure differentials.

Using special geometrics, Leaderflush Shapland has developed a complete engineered doorset solution which is a combination of elements specially designed to work together to meet the legislation - doorleaf, frame, seals, hinges, handle, lock, closer and all other ironmongery.

No other doorset manufacturer can make this claim with third party test evidence.

Fitzpatrick has manufactured metal doors and doorsets for the commercial and industrial building sectors since the 1940s. Unrivalled aesthetics and performance are the hallmarks of these doorsets which provide a highly adaptable solution for internal or external applications in specialist sectors such as health and education.

Fitzpatrick offers a number of product ranges each delivering different performance characteristics as well as a steel frame option, all of which are available either primed for on-site painting, or powder coated to any BS or RAL colour.
Firecel doorsets have been specifically designed to meet the requirements for prolonged fire resistance for periods of up to 240 minutes; Soundcel doorsets have been developed using mineral wool or honeycomb cores to meet specific acoustic performance requirements; Securicel doorsets offer protection against various levels of attack from petty burglars using small tools, up to attempted, forced entry with high powered machinery; and Framecel metal door frames are manufactured to BS1245 and can be manufactured in stainless or mild steel.

Fitzpatrick doorsets meet the full requirements of both PAS 23 and PAS 24 as tested by BSI and the Securicel range has been awarded the Secured by Design accreditation. Firecel doorsets are Certifire accredited as part of independent third party testing and have been successfully subjected to BS 476: Part 22: 1987 fire testing allowing Fitzpatrick to certificate 60, 90, 120 and 240 minute assemblies.

A honeycomb core construction can provide fire protection for up to 240 minutes and a mineral wool core can give up to 120 minutes protection yet with higher acoustic performance (up to 35 RwdB sound reduction). Core construction is determined by performance of doorset specified.

Many recent projects have benefited from the performance characteristics and visual appeal of Fitzpatrick doorsets: the Voyager School, the Jack Hunt School and the Ken Stimpson Community School in the Peterborough BSF Programme; Unity College within the Lancashire BSF Programme; and Broadway, Holte, Mayfield and Lozells Schools and Stockland Green College in the Birmingham BSF Programme. All doorsets were custom made to an enhanced version of the Fitzpatrick Securicel doorset in a polyester powder coat finish and some doorsets in sports hall and gym areas were provided complete with rebound boards designed to meet Sport England guidelines.

As part of Leaderflush Shapland, the UK’s leading performance doorset manufacturer, Fitzpatrick can draw on a wide range of expertise including a wealth of knowledge and experience in the health and education sectors.

CE marking is a mandatory conformance mark on many products placed on the single market in the European Economic Area (EEA) - CE stands for conformité européenne, French for "European conformity". The CE marking certifies that a product has met EU consumer safety, health or environmental requirements and, by affixing this mark to a product, the manufacturer – on his sole responsibility – declares that it meets these standards.

At present, CE marking in the UK is voluntary and expectation is by 2013, CE marking of all relevant construction products will become compulsory in all EU member states and will include doorsets.

With the benefits of CE marked doorsets clearly apparent they are fully expected to become the default requirement for major projects such as schools, hospitals and other public buildings and that CE marked doorsets will be the preferred specification for general applications as they offer many advantages compared with door assemblies created on site from separately sourced components. These door assemblies cannot be CE marked and, even with a door assembly comprising components previously forming part of a CE marked doorset, they may not be compatible, therefore it cannot be assumed that this is in any way equivalent to obtaining a CE marked doorset from a single source.

Leaderflush Shapland, the UK’s leading performance doorset manufacturer, sees CE marking as a positive step and is working in conjunction with the Door and Hardware Federation (DHF) to promote the benefits to architects, specifiers, designers, contractors and end-users.

Ray Anning, Leaderflush Shapland’s Head of Technical and NPD explained why the company is giving its full support to the new standard, “CE marking will mean that one manufacturer alone is responsible and accountable for the performance and certification of the entire doorset and ironmongery assembly and that compatibility of all the components is assured.

“It also considerably improves on-site logistics leading to faster and more accurate installation and reducing potential health and safety issues with site work and assembly.”

Leaderflush Shapland has been a long-time advocate of the doorset as a fully finished, engineered element comprising frame, pre-hung door leaf (with any vision panels) and essential ironmongery, all matched and pre-assembled in the factory and delivered to site as a package for reassembly and simple installation. Their doorsets are designed as complete, engineered units to meet specific performance requirements and manufactured to exacting standards from established components under factory conditions.

The importance of doorsets is also acknowledged in many common guidance documents including HTM 58 ‘Internal doorsets’, SSLD 7 ‘Internal doorsets in schools’ and by BS 8214: 1990 'Code of practice for fire door assemblies with non-metallic leaves': "It is strongly recommended that pre-hung, pre-finished, fire doors (i.e. doorsets) are specified whenever possible as this reduces the amount of site work necessary and allows normal factory quality control procedures to be applied to the finishing operations."

BS 8214 calls for testing of complete fire door assemblies or doorsets, fully representative of all aspects of how they will be used on site. For door assemblies, this is far more problematic with potential for combinations of mismatched, uncertified components and potential for poor site practices. In addition to fire resistance, other performance criteria can be achieved and maintained more easily with doorsets, including smoke containment, sound reduction and durability.

Two teams of four Leaderflush Shapland employees successfully completed the 2010 Cooper Parry corporate challenge in Nottingham. Team 1 came in 8th out of 37 with a time of 1:48:32 and Team 2 finished 12th out of 37 with a time of 1:54:42.

The annual event is a relay race covering 13.1 miles; it raises money for the Treetops Hospice and the Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research charities with both teams raising nearly £300 together.

The Cooper Parry Corporate Challenge has been a firm fixture in the Nottingham business calendar for eight years and is the single biggest contributor to the marathon charities.

Estover Community Campus is one of the biggest investments for children and young people in Plymouth in the last decade. 441 Leaderflush Shapland Designer and Extended Performance doorsets were specified for the £28m project which is due for completion late 2010. It will create a home for Estover Community College; Estover Primary School, Plymbridge Children’s Centre and Nursery School, the Soundhouse, Estover Library, Estover Youth Centre, part of Plymouth Hospital School and Downham School.

Features include flexible space to allow classrooms to change size and shape, breakout areas, an amphitheatre for hosting outdoor performances, dedicated wings for subjects such as design and arts and information technology, and open plan internal and external dining spaces alongside mezzanine areas. An inner courtyard area will act as the heart of the campus and a central link to all of the facilities.

The doorsets were laminate faced in a range of colours and specified to meet performance characteristics of 60 minute fire resistance and 38 RwdB sound reduction. Leaderflush Shapland’s revolutionary hand and finger protection solution, Sentinel was also specified, which prevents fingers from getting into the hinge area of the door. ROSPA reports that 30,000 children trap and seriously injure their fingers in doors each year. Sentinel is aesthetically pleasing, robust, cannot be easily damaged or pulled off and complies with British Standards for accessibility.

Further innovations include EnduraCor - Leaderflush Shapland’s engineered performance doorset core whose durability and strength is especially suited to withstanding such harsh environments. Independent testing showed EnduraCor to be 100 times more durable than multi-layered chipboard cores. EnduraCor achieved 2,000,000 cycles during the test, 1,000,000 more than the requirements of EN1191 class 8 - this easily equates to the number of door opening occurrences throughout the lifespan of a busy school building. This highly cost-effective solution may never have to be replaced and could significantly reduce ‘whole life’ repair and maintenance costs.

Main contractor Kier's Dafydd Hollyman commented that; "As Project Director for Estover Community Campus I was impressed by the quality of the workmanship and materials within the doorsets supplied by Leaderflush Shapland. It was also great to include some real innovation on this flag-ship scheme such as the use of Sentinel, Leaderflush Shapland's finger trap protection system, which made installation easy and has provided a neat solution in high risk areas of the Campus".

For many years, Leaderflush Shapland has created doorset solutions which are suitable for the most demanding healthcare situations including surgery suites, pathology labs and pharmacies and can satisfy a wide range of technical performance requirements such as fire resistance, smoke control, sound reduction, antimicrobial protection, water resistance and X-ray protection.

Combating healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) is crucial in healthcare environments. As such, Leaderflush Shapland has developed doorset solutions in their Designer, Plasform and Extended Performance ranges which help raise the standards of hygiene and aid in controlling the spread of infections through the use of a highly effective antibacterial additive which kills harmful species of bacteria including C.diff, MRSA, Salmonella and E.coli remaining effective for years. The additive has been used as a standard finish for Leaderflush Shapland’s veneered doorsets for some time and has now been extended to PVC facings to create Hygieniform.

Hygieniform is a high impact PVC which incorporates the anti-microbial additive throughout the complete 2mm thickness of the PVC, so that even if the surface is scratched, it will still keep it’s antimicrobial properties, as well as being suitable for ‘severe duty’ applications through it’s durability and robust qualities.

To reduce contamination further, Leaderflush Shapland offers a range of architectural hardware which can also incorporate the antibacterial additive to provide a complete end-to-end antimicrobial doorset solution for a total bespoke doorset package

Infection Control in the Built Environment (design and planning) calls for smooth, hard impervious surfaces which are easy to clean and durable. Leaderflush Shapland offers many suitable products including Plasform fully encapsulated postformed doorsets – suitable for all healthcare environments, which avoid sharp corners and are resistant to chemicals. Plasform gives flexibility for many applications allowing tremendous scope to demonstrate flair through colourful or simple, contemporary designs.

In the last 12 months, Leaderflush Shapland has manufactured nearly 14,000 doorsets for health projects alone. Over 1,200 doorsets were supplied to the three hospital schemes which are on the list of Europe's most-impressive architectural projects - the New Stobhill Hospital in Glasgow, Downe Hospital in Northern Ireland and The Skypad Teenage Cancer Trust Unit in Cardiff. Competing with flagship residential, leisure, industrial and educational facilities, the three developments were singled out as examples of design best practice in the 2010 RIBA Awards.