Managing High Throughput with Specialist Integrations

2 London Wall Place is a Grade A office building offering high-quality workspace facilities to the City of London. The scheme comprises an acre of landscaped public realm set between two statement office buildings totalling 500,000 Sq Ft. The development incorporates the remains of St Alphage Church and a portion of the original London Wall, which have been thoughtfully integrated with new pedestrian pathways and landscaped gardens to create a visually impressive destination. The buildings at London Wall Place feature a distinctive cladding that reimagines the knapped flint of the area’s Roman and Saxon remains, seamlessly blending historical and contemporary elements of the city.

Challenge

Make Architects approached Meesons with the challenges of keeping the reception of 2 London Wall Place reception design as a modern, warm, welcoming space but with a bespoke anti-tailgating solution. Also, as this was set to be a busy office space, high throughput was expected; therefore, a solution that could cope with higher levels of traffic was necessary. It was also essential to have a solution in place that would stop any unauthorised people from getting further into the building from the reception area.

Solution

Five EasyGate SPD-G Speed Gates were put in place at 2 London Wall Place to overcome the architects’ challenges. To blend in with the welcoming reception, the speed gates featured solid side infill panels that were finished in copper bronze to match the finish of the lifts and reception panelling, working with UK manufacturer Evans Turner to deliver this finish. They also added a white top glass lid to complement the Formigari stone reception desk, flooring and lift lobby so that the entire look tied together, making for a gracious entrance.  

With the high number of staff and visitors, EasyGate SPD-Gs were chosen as it had the latest MDD motor technology, enabling it to cope with large numbers of people on a daily basis. As well as this, the silent and smooth motor prevented operational noise, ensuring that the speed gates created as little disruption as possible. In aid of allowing in copious amounts of authorised users, the speed gates also have very quick opening and closing speeds, increasing how many transits could happen per minute and therefore reducing crowds. In addition to this, the lift call control was integrated into the five speed gate cabinets, helping to form a smooth flow of people. Not only this, but visitor card collectors were also integrated into the speed gates, each with a capacity of 150 cards to ease the management of cards upon their exit.  

Results

The end result at 2 London Wall Place left the building with a bespoke speed gate solution that subtly enhances the overall look of the reception area. In order to maintain the aesthtics of the speed gates, copper bronze hinge capping was placed on fixings to hide them between the glass wings and cabinets.

Project Facts

• Client
  2 London Wall Place
• Sector
  Core Commercial
• Location
  London
• Area
  500,000SQ FT
• Product
  Easygate SPD G