NEWSWORTHY
WIRELESS ACCESS
CONTROL TECHNOLOGY
The new Aperio® H100 packs the
power and flexibility of wireless
LYT ARCHITECTURE DESIGNS CENTRE FOR THE ARTS access control into one cleverly
In celebrating St Dunstan’s Centenary
year, the E John Butler Centre for the Arts
was launched as a means of commemorating
the occasion. Due to the school’s rapid
growth in the field of arts and culture, a
centre for the arts was identified as the
next major step required to build upon
their expanding presence in the East Rand
and beyond.
LYT Architecture was tasked with carrying
out the architecture and interior design on
the project. The brief was to create an
iconic building that redefines the schools
existing architectural language and sets a
new standard for quality education. This
building is now home to state of the art
music, drama, art and library facilities, a
212-seater auditorium, a conference centre
and coffee bar.
As part of the design process, LYT
hosted an internal competition to explore
the possibilities of architectural language,
institutional presence, building programme
and existing tectonics. The competiti on
resulted in a number of strong ideas,
amalgamated into a singular architecture,
meeting the client’s visual and programmatic
requirements. The primary architectural retrofitting to almost any interior
objective was to design a highly creative
building that would still fit in seamlessly
within the fabric of the school.
The urban design principle remains simple
in nature; the building acts as a termination
point for the school’s East-West axis. The
strength of this axis lies in that two buildings
act as an anchor on either side of the school.
One side hosts the chapel representing the
school’s high values and community based
ethos. The second side hosts the centre
for the arts, promoting and encouraging
creativity and excellence. This axis anchors
the school’s strong academics through the
use of a visual connection between a series
of school quads.
The building’s programme is arranged
to take full advantage of shaded northern
light and subtle southern light. Program-
matically, loud spaces face away from the
learning spaces, whilst softer spaces open
up to the learning spaces. This arrange-
ment maximises natural light and cross
ventilation into the often closed up and
isolated music spaces, resulting in a fluid
and pleasantly lit series of intermingled
learning environments.
www.lyt.co.za
designed door handle. With easy
door and RFID compatibility, the
handle makes extending access
control
to
more
doors
cost-
effective by integrating with a
range of third-party systems.
The Aperio® H100’s stylish design
is perfect for indoor office and
facility doors and can work within
an online access control system
or offline as a standalone device.
A battery fits inside the handle,
ensuring a minimal footprint and
a discreet look. It is easy to retrofit
on existing doors, with no drilling
or wiring required. Any existing
mechanical cylinder lock with a
drawback latch can be used.
The Aperio® H100 is specified with
maximum flexibility and works
on wooden, steel, tubular frame
or glass doors with standard lock
cases. It comes in left- and right-
hand versions for a door between
35mm
and
80mm
thickness,
with optional U-handle and USB
adaptor for offline programming.
The Aperio® range is integrated
with
many
access
control
providers such as Impro, Gallagher
and Honeywell. It also makes use
of RFID technologies, including
mobile phone access using Seos®.
“Like all Aperio® devices, our new
handle can upgrade site security for
a very affordable price,” says Hayley
Elwen,
Business
Development
Director, ASSA ABLOY Africa.
Hayley.elwen@assaabloy.com
News Watch
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