ASSA ABLOY’s Aperio wireless locking solution installed at Thames Reach’s employment academy, London

ASSA ABLOY’s Aperio wireless locking solution allows free egress via the lock handle as and when required

ASSA ABLOY Access Control’s innovative Aperio wireless locking solution has been fitted by system integrators Choice Security Solutions Ltd to complete an access control solution in Thames Reach’s Employment Academy, a Grade II Listed late Victorian ‘Baroque’ building.

Located on Peckham Road in Camberwell, Thames Reach’s Employment Academy is an ambitious initiative dedicated to helping people in south London to find work. Funded by the Homes and Communities Agency together with Thames Reach and supported by Southwark and Lambeth councils the project brief was for low key high security.

Choice Security Solutions Ltd worked with architects and specifiers from an early stage to ensure a high security solution was delivered to the client within the context of an historical building. 

Choice Security installed the latest PLAN Aperio Gateway controller hardware from Access Control Services Limited and integrated a mix of Aperio E100 and Premium escutcheons with a number of traditional wired doors, to ensure a fully integrated wireless security solution could operate across the site.

Says Steven McIntosh Property Development Manager at Thames Reach: “We were very conscious of ensuring any security measures remained sensitive to the need to create a welcoming environment for visitors on site. It is for this reason for example that no CCTV equipment is installed inside the building.”

“The additional issues we faced in securing the building was a need to accommodate mixed-use facilities and also carefully respond to the intense planning restrictions placed on working with such a historical building. Aperio matched all these requirements due to its wireless nature and ability to integrate with the PLAN access control system. It’s also easy to operate and maintain for access control, saving valuable time and resource.”

To date, over 20 Aperio units have been fitted to a mixture of door types, including a number of weatherproof Premium escutcheons installed on fire doors and emergency exits, to ensure compliance with latest industry DIN and EN standards. The Aperio devices communicate via a network of one-to-one and one-to-many hubs to maximise the controllability and security on site.

Peter Evans of Choice Security added: “The building is a mix of old and new, with the original listed building having been expanded with a modern extension. In this environment the fabric of the building must not be damaged or altered in any way that made the use of a wireless system for some elements of the installation the only practical solution.”

“Care and attention had to be given at every stage of the works programme to preserve the Victorian charm of the building. We worked very closely with the design team during the specification process to introduce products and integrate technologies such as Aperio that could work within this kind of building and protect its future for many years to come.”

The Aperio wireless locking solution allows free egress via the lock handle as and when required and the use of the same contactless smart cards on additional online doors to ensure real time audits and instant updates of access restrictions throughout via the PLAN access control system.

Damian Marsh, Managing Director of ASSA ABLOY Access Control UK: “The work with Thames Reach is an excellent example of how ASSA ABLOY and its partner system integrators work together as a successful supply chain throughout the works programme. This way we can be involved much earlier in the design process and understand the real requirements for security, which is essential in a building of such historical significance, with such an important agenda for the South London community.”