University Centre Kingston Maurward – Stinsford Centre

Kingston Maurward is a specialist provider and educator in land-based courses, based in the South West of England. Very local to the Door Controls Direct head office and partnering with a Dorset contractor that has been established in the area for over 100 years, this was always going to be an exciting opportunity for our team. 

Challenged with integrating a new combined rural business centre and university hub into an existing, sprawling site, which is also part of a conservation area, our specification team applied their years’ worth of knowledge and experience to this important project. 

A new-build extension to an expansive existing site in rural Dorset wouldn’t seem too involved on the surface. However, this college and university-level facility specialising in higher education courses in and around the farming industry, conservation, and horticulture had hardware requirements as extensive as their course brochure. 

Having worked on a great number of projects with the college in years gone by, we were grateful to be able to extend our involvement with this latest build, applying our expert knowledge of current compliance, fire door solutions, and robust, dependable products. 

One foot in the past, and one in the future 

When this already varied college was looking to diversify the campus yet retain a cohesive look and feel – the challenge was set. To combine a contemporary learning hub for students and business space with a site featuring glasshouses, sports pitches, a commercial farm, and construction workshops was a project Qoda Consulting, the project architect, took up with relish. 

A great number of stakeholders were involved – the project part funded by the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership – plus the students, staff, local start-up businesses. And, due to the nature of the site, national interest in the form of Historic England, who initially raised concerns around the appropriate location of parking bays with an aim to maintain the character of the locale. 

A key goal was delivering a game-changing facility, ticking the boxes of educational necessities, needs of business units, and remaining in keeping with the stunning pastoral setting. This situation may have seemed restrictive for some, particularly when factoring in the must-haves of fire rated doors, final exit escape doors, and controlled access for a diverse array of users. However, our specification team have the breadth of knowledge and experience to deliver expert door hardware solutions that ensure compliance alongside functionality. 

Advancing learning, delivering safety 

So, how did our ironmongery specification accommodate rooms and spaces used by students, small businesses, office space, a café, lecture theatre, and of course teaching areas? 

With clear plans from the architect and liaising with the contractor, Hammond Building Contractors, whom we have a 30+ year working relationship with, we started by getting all of the pieces together, making an assessment of the most effective approach. 

Key areas of focus were: 

• Security 
• Accessibility 
• Ease of use 
• Safety 
• Compliance 

The well-considered design allowed for some division on spaces. University-level students had their own designated entrance with learning spaces predominantly on the first floor. Businesses and members of the public were to gain access from a dedicated ground floor entrance on the north elevation. 

Components may be off the shelf to a large degree but as with all of our specifications, this was a completely bespoke solution. With this type of premises, the ironmongery had to be robust, fit for purpose, and reliable. Whilst regular maintenance is a must for all doors and their hardware, our expert solutions needed to ensure high levels of performance and compliance for peace of mind. Anything to make a facility manager’s role more straightforward while providing frictionless usability for all users. 

Security – expanding an already diverse and evolving site while including new groups of users meant a custom access control and physical security solution was essential. For the University Centre this meant master keyed cylinders alongside Salto handle sets, and electric locking products. Maglocks and wall readers sat seamlessly alongside cylinder and turns, and break glass units. 

Accessibility – the needs of a varied and changing group of users was accommodated by including DIN standard lockcases on locking doors with return to door design safety levers. Longer pull handles and matching push plates featured on many doors, with the dimensions compliant with BS 8300-2 and Approved Document M. For the accessible WCs, lift-to-lock systems were specified. And, throughout the building, GEZE slide track door closers were allowed, to deliver a smooth operation, low opening forces, and many on-door adjustments for continued adaptability. And - perfect timing to coincide with the pandemic – touch free exit buttons were allowed for on access control doors, not just for hygiene reasons but also an accessible way to exit through electrically controlled exits. 

Ease of use – security and accessibility came together with numerous electronic handle sets around the facility. They provide a cohesive look alongside standard door handles and sashlocks but allow for more adaptable, controlled access but with easy lever operation. Clear signage was specified throughout – fire rated doors, exit doors, and toilet door signs – to keep users informed at every turn. 

Safety and compliance - a wide range of our fire door ironmongery was brought into the design with CE marked and Certifire Approved hardware on every fire door. With no ‘T’ left uncrossed or ‘I’ undotted, our team ensured the unseen passive fire protection elements also featured on our specification. Where noted on the test evidence, intumescent ironmongery protection was included for mortice items like the DIN lockcases and flush bolts. Passive fire safety is life safety as well as protecting property. 

And, with an eye on the details still, doors with restricted opening had suitable length projection doorstops to protect walls and doors from damage. Likewise with the overhead door closers, the backcheck function provides an intuitive buffer when doors are opened with excessive force. This limits the damage to the door, wall, or foot traffic passing by. Bespoke width and height of kickplates, changing with door use and location, were the protective icing on the cake. 

Getting our hands dirty with the detail 

The building design was very considered – it appears as a single storey construction from one aspect, and a two storey from the opposite elevation. Our specification, processes, communication, and execution had to match the level of attention to detail already in evidence on this project. 

Across only a small number of revisions that extended over a period of 9 months, our specification evolved to the finished product that you can now see installed on this bucolic site. From the regular contact between our spec team, despatch team, and the contractor, individual boxed doorsets of ironmongery were timely supplied to site – a pleasantly short trip for our delivery driver. 

Our team have decades of experience across a huge variety of sites and know that some products must be tailored to the specifics of a site, sometimes on a door-by-door basis. So, once the initial delivery of door closers, locks, handles, bolts, and more arrived on site, it was time to tackle the specifics of the custom hardware. Cylinder lock barrel length was first up. Establishing the door thickness for each locking door and accommodating for the depth of hardware on each face of the door, a master key chart was developed hand-in-hand with our in-house bench Master Locksmith. The keying detail for each lock barrel was established with the client as an extension to their existing system and new requirements to enable our locksmith to construct each cylinder and cut every new key. 

That left one last product – door kickplates. Pull or push side or both. Different widths for each door, each side. Different heights for different doors. Not complicated, no, but not something that can be rushed, despite it being a low value item, and the last real door hardware task after many months of work. The Door Controls Direct specification team never lose focus and always ensure we deliver a well-considered, detailed, unique specification, hand-in-hand with the best levels service. 

An inspiring home for learning 

The initial planning application stated the centre aimed to: "serve as a university centre and rural hub, providing around 875 sqm of teaching, office and collaborative space with the aim of enhancing the opportunities for young people in areas of poor social mobility, to enable growth in the small rural businesses predominant in the area, and provide a focus for partner universities to come together to utilise the estate and for the site to enhance its knowledge transfer and research activities." 

And from the centre’s opening in May 2024, it is delivering against these objectives. Working with the architect, contractor, and client, we were able to help with their immediate needs while delivery the long-term satisfaction and certainty needed from a watertight door hardware specification. 

At the official opening, Luke Rake, the Principal and Chief Executive of the college said: “A proud day for me as leader of Kingston Maurward – over the last three years, we’ve built a new Higher Education Building, gained formal University Centre status from the DfE, and validated a relationship with The Open University, the only land-based specialist college in the country to do so. Days such as this are a moment to pause, reflect and celebrate. A great team doing a great job.” 

One piece of a much larger puzzle but we are proud to continue our relationship with Kingston Maurward and celebrate their successes, the new University Centre being one of those. 

From Animal Welfare to Zoology – A Complete Solution 

The true test of a solid specification is when the building opens after the final snagging stages are complete and the end users are settled in, going about their day to day, and nearly forget about the door hardware – it’s a background to the activities taking place. 

After many months of use, our compliant door hardware solutions continue to sit comfortably alongside native hedgerows, built-in planters, and a discreet outdoor seating area in a corner of this 750-acre site. A natural, subdued external façade contrasts with the contemporary interior with rich, warm dark grey doors and the satin stainless steel door furniture.  

Client needs of accessibility, ease of use, and hybrid security came together with our knowledge of passive fire safety requirements, building regulations, standards, and product compatibility to form the ultimate, complete solution. Commissioning of the Salto products was included alongside power supply units and batteries for the access control doors.  

On-going support continues and will do for years to come. A master key system evolves with the site, a building, changes of use, upgrades in security. With a shift from physical security to access control on a nationwide level, we are here to guide and support Kingston Maurward and all of our customers with the advances in compliant door hardware. 

Need help selecting the right solution for your project? Our specification team is here to guide you: specification@doorcontrolsdirect.co.uk