Wind tears the glass entrance doors to the Conservatorio del Liceo out of students’ hands

Does the wind also want to study music and so try to force his way into the Conservatorio?

The Conservatorio del Liceo in Barcelona opens its doors to its many students and staff every day. It is one of the most important and renowned music academies in Catalonia and celebrated its 185th anniversary in 2022. Montserrat Caballé also studied here. Readers with a less classical affinity will know her as the singer of the song “Barcelona” together with Freddy Mercury.

In 2009, the Conservatorio del Liceo moved to a new building in Calle Nou de la Rambla, not far from the sea. In addition to the students, the wind is also a frequent guest. The main entrance with two large double glass doors is located in a narrow street and the upper floors of the building form a kind of roof over the entrance. An ideal canvas for the wind. As a result, the glass doors were frequently torn out of visitors’ hands when they opened them. This is very dangerous when there are large numbers of people in the area. Because it is only a matter of time before someone is knocked over by the large door leaf. Another problem was that the two middle panels had to open a maximum of 90° each, as otherwise they would have collided with each other in the worst case scenario – with corresponding damage to the two door panels.

Overhead door closers alone cannot control door movement in windy conditions

The individual door leaves are relatively heavy at 140 kg. The large dimensions of 1,013 mm wide and 2,252 mm high are necessary so that even students with the instrument case on their backs can get through the doors easily. The already installed overhead door closers with guide rails were unable to withstand the wind without additional support. They had to concede defeat to the “direction” of the wind.

With back checks, the entrance doors open and close as desired – without the wind causing problems

Fortunately, the problem was very easy to solve. DICTATOR back checks can be easily retrofitted, even if overhead door closers are already installed. They are also available with an integrated hold-open at 90° so that they can remain open despite the overhead door closer if required. The maximum opening angle for the door leaves is 90° so that the two middle leaves can never collide with each other. A corresponding calculation of the installation positions is included with the product supplied by DICTATOR. And of course, we also provide the fitting accessories. The installation by DICTATOR Española completed the “composition” in which back checks were exactly matched to the the existing doors and door closers. And thus the wind no longer stands a chance here.

The large glass doors of the main entrance are canopied by the floors above. There is almost constant wind here. In the past, it repeatedly tore the doors out of your hand when opening them.

The doors can be opened wide without any problems, even with a back check, because a cello on the back needs ample room!

If necessary, all 4 doors can now be left open thanks to the back checks.

A fully “composed” ensemble – everything works perfectly, despite the limited space.

There is not much space left on the door leaf as the back check has to be attached above the glass strip. But with DICTATOR’s installation proposal specially calculated for the project, this is no problem.