Transparency in the financial world
Danish savings bank Middelfart opts for fully automatic DORMA Glass partition system
 Westerstede, Germany. When contemplating new builds and refurbishments of banks and financial institutions, people frequently imagine the sight of mighty bastions of the money market rising up into the sky. That this need not necessarily be the case is impressively illustrated by the HQ of Danish savings bank Middelfart, a construction project brought to a most satisfactory and successful conclusion this year. The building is open, flooded in light and friendly in appearance. The interior is dominated by glass. Hence, for the partition system too, the client naturally turned to this material. Installed in the headquarters was a Varitrans ComfortDrive, a fully automatically operated glass partition system from DORMA Hüppe, international leader in the supply of innovative spatial solutions based on movable walls in glass and sound-insulating elements.
Middelfart is the main metropolis of the district of the same name on Funen, an island located between the Little and the Great Belt straits. Funen is connected to the mainland by several bridges located close to Middelfart. One of these is the oldest in Denmark. Another has the title of the longest suspension bridge in Europe and the third largest in the world with a total length of over 13 kilometres. It spans the Great Belt, connecting Funen to the neighbouring island of Zeeland. Middelfart is an old sea trading port and is today the fourth largest city in the country.
Open zones
The interior of the approx. 5,000 square metre bank HQ with its four “plateaux” (levels) is made up of various areas, all open in appearance, which are dedicated to different activities. Aside from the bank and the integrated administration areas in the upper levels, there is also, at the lower level, a café, a bookstore and a boutique, each accessible through its own separate entrance. The remit of the architects was to create a transparent atmosphere with a pleasant internal climate, both in the summer and in the winter, for the 120 bank employees working in the building. The achievement of this goal has been helped by a combination of modern materials with an intelligent and highly efficient heating and cooling system.
One of the major feel-good factors derives from the fact that the entire complex is flooded by warm daylight. Artificial lighting is only provided once the natural lighting conditions fade to the point of gloom. And it is hardly surprising in such a modern and prestigious building that the glass partition system installed is of the type offered by DORMA Hüppe. The customer service area of the bank on the first “plateau” of the building can be readily divided by two ComfortDrive movable glass wall systems, each with a length of 12.5 metres. The contained spaces thus created can then be used for various mutually exclusive activities. The overall length of the glass partition therefore measures 25 metres, with a height of 2.7 metres. Each of the two systems comprises 12 individual glass elements. Due to prevailing spatial and architectural requirements, one of the two partitions travels around a corner. The systems are each operated by means of a user-friendly touch screen.
Modern bus control
“We are particularly delighted that the planners responsible for the Middelfart savings bank project decided in favour of a system from DORMA. And the benefits speak for themselves. With the ComfortDrive – only recently launched at the beginning of this year – we are able to offer currently the most advanced system around. The freely configurable bus control for glass and sound-insulating MOVEO partitions is a completely new development, building on the principle of a databus with parallel power supply provided in the form of an uninterrupted busbar. Needless to say, the entire system can be integrated within the overall building control hierarchy. All the partition elements operate independently, travelling to their pre-defined positions at dynamic speeds of up to 250 mm/s. In addition to responding to simple open and close commands, the system can also be configured via the parameterisable microprocessor control to assume individual partial open positions, interspaced arrangements and freely selectable locations,” explains Jörg Tholen, the project manager responsible at DORMA Hüppe.
Each individual partition element is equipped with its own drive motor. This is concealed and dust-protected in the slender ceiling-integral track with its width of just 98 mm. The elements are also guided at the bottom by a floor track with a slot of about 8 mm wide. Integrated Teflon tubes on the top edges of the track ensure silent operation whenever one of the 24 individual glass elements is sent on its way, travelling completely under its own power to its assigned position. As they move, the elements are in constant communication with one another through signals relayed via the intelligent central control unit. If one of the elements should come up against an obstacle, the TÜV -certified monitoring function ensures that the system is brought to an immediate halt and the element is reversed. Following a pre-programmed wait, the system automatically restarts. If the obstacle is still present, the partition is shut down and then needs to be restarted via the control panel. The position of the individual glass elements is constantly updated in the PCB integrated in the drive unit so that the elements can always be restarted fully automatically from whichever position they have assumed. In the event of a power failure, each panel can also be moved manually with ease.
These DORMA Hüppe systems can be manufactured as both segmented and curved partitions. Among the special features incorporated into the Middelfart solution are the parking positions provided for the two movable walls. Each features a permanently integrated door which is electrically operated and, in the partition-open state, seals off the stacking area. When the partition is extended, i.e. closed, the two doors serve as access points. “Our objective was to create an open and modern administration centre. Designed for fully automatic operation, the glass partition system from DORMA Hüppe with its smart touch screen-based control fits beautifully within our overall concept,” says Hans Erik Brønserud, Director of the Middelfart savings bank.
Award-winning architecture
The futuristic bank building designed by renowned Copenhagen-based architects 3XN is particularly striking for its sophisticated roof construction, which falls away majestically towards the water of the nearby harbour. Incorporated within it are 83 prisms, a geometric form that recurs throughout the entire construction with repetitions not only in the wide-area façade windows but also in the floor tiling. In optics, the prism is known to concentrate light. And in the case of this bank administration centre, one of the main objectives of the architects was to deflect as much daylight as possible into the building, while at the same time affording a view of the nearby seascape, including the impressive suspension bridge that spans the Little Belt strait. The bank building also harmonises well with the general architectural backdrop of the expanding city, at the same time providing an attractive contrast between old and new. All these aspects were important to the Middelfart bank as the client in the implementation of the project. And indeed, the outcome has been widely recognised with a number of awards. One such is the coveted MIPIM Future Projects Award, and in 2010 the project also took second place among Europe’s small and medium sized enterprises in the list of best workplaces published by the Great Place to Work® Institute of Europe.
Currently, DORMA is also working on the development of an electrically operated track switch for even greater convenience in the control of the moving elements. The areas of application include, for example, alternative configurations or split parking/stacking zones.
Westerstede, November, 2010
For customer enquiries, please contact:
DORMA Hüppe Raumtrennsysteme GmbH Co. KG
Industriestrasse 5
D-26655 Westerstede/Ocholt, Germany
Tel.: 49 (0) 4409/666-0, Fax: 49 (0) 4409/666-489
info.hueppe@dorma.com
www.dorma-hueppe.com
For editorial requires, please contact:
DORMA Hüppe Raumtrennsysteme GmbH Co. KG
Jörg Tholen
Industriestraße 5
26655 Westerstede/Ocholt
Tel.: 49 (0) 4409/666-368, Fax: 49 (0) 4409/666-247
joerg.tholen@dorma.com
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Open and communicative workstation positions under an impressive roof structure. (download RGB-format)
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All the glass partition elements travel under their own power to their preprogrammed positions, overcoming corners with effortless ease.
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The building roof is adorned with 83 prisms, helping to ensure that there is plenty of natural light refracted into the building during the day.
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TÜV-compliant safety! Once the system comes into contact with any kind of obstacle, it is immediately halted, reversed and then automatically restarted.
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The new savings bank HQ blends harmoniously within Middelfart’s expanding skyline.
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The two ComfortDrive systems, which together make up a length of 25 metres, shown here moving towards each other.
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The customer services area is completely enclosed.
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