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Doors At Indiana School
Combine Beauty With Function And Durability
Avon, Indiana
Doors at the Pine Tree Elementary
School combine function with style, standing up
to the energy and enthusiasm of 475 young students
while also teaching them that everyday things can
be beautiful.
 Von
Duprin 33 Series
touchpad exit devices handle student traffic through
the main entry at the school. Mortise-type devices
and center mullion provide durability and fast action,
combined with traffic control.
Pine Tree Elementary School
is a K-5 school that serves the southern third of
Washington Township of Hendricks County, a 12 square
mile area in the growing suburbs immediately southwest
of Indianapolis. It is one of three K-5 schools
under the jurisdiction of the Avon Community School
Corporation. Mrs. Jan Wright, principal of the school,
says that the school serves about 475 pupils with
a staff of 50, including kitchen and custodial help
as well as teachers.
The Everett I. Brown Company, Indianapolis, provided
architectural, engineering and interior design for
the school. Project Manager Doug McCoy explains
that the building is a modular design, laid out
to provide separation between the early elementary
students (through second grade) and the older students.
Enhanced color sensitivity comes from design concepts
that include the use of three different colors of
brick, a unique standing seam room and aluminum
doors anodized to a rich blue, rather than the more
typical bronze.
Specifying doors and hardware for elementary school
students involves unique considerations, because
many of the users will be short and lack the strength
needed to open large, heavy doors or to overcome
the force of a closer that is too strong. Likewise,
the exit devices must operate freely and easily,
as well as being within reach of students and visitors
of widely varied height.
The entry doors are Amarlite Model 75 Wide Stile
doors, designed for heavy traffic entrances such
as schools. Their 59 wide stiles create a bold and
impressive appearance, yet their aluminum construction
keeps weight at the minimum. Door construction is
standard, except for the specified blue anodic finish.
Throughout the school, entrance fire doors are equipped
with 33 and 99 Series Von Duprin touchpad devices,
finished in US 26 bright chrome. The popular 33
Series, when first introduced, revolutionized the
exit hardware industry by eliminating the need for
lever arms and crossbars. On all the touchpad designs,
slight pressure anywhere on the pad retracts the
latch bolts for quick, smooth operation. The non-handed
devices are easily installed and blend well with
the lines of the modern structure. Designed for
stiles as narrow as 13/49, they are well-suited
for use on the school's glass doors, where the mortise-type
devices are combined with center mullions. The 99
Series devices are used on fire doors and other
solid interior doors. These standard vertical-rod
devices also are finished in polished chrome to
carry out the school's modern theme. By specifying
touchpad devices, school officials also anticipate
reduced expenses for exit device maintenance and
replacement.
The school's principal, Mrs. Wright, comments that
the touchpad action of the Von Duprin exit devices
is well-suited for school use, especially by the
younger students who, because of their size, may
have trouble with the type of action required by
a conventional pivoting bar-type device.
Von Duprin door closers are used throughout. While no standards
exist for opening or closing forces appropriate
to elementary schools, both closer selection and
adjustment should be at the low end of forces required
to close the door properly. Opening force and closing
force may differ, although the two are related.
ADA guidelines, which now apply to new construction,
only provide a specific opening force requirement
for interior, non-fire-rated openings, which is
set at a maximum of five pounds. |
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