doors. In addition to architecture and design, they create and install doors for the aviation, industrial, and agricultural industries. Custom- ized solutions are Midland’s specialty, so Brewhalla was a perfect fit for their next undertaking. “Unique applications like this allow us to showcase our creativity,” said Jason Myrvik, general manager of Midland Door Solutions. “We were excited to take on a local project and work with the customer to create the look and feel they were striving for.” MBAArchitects’ team had seen photos of other Midland custom doors, and knew they’d be a good fit for the unique situation. “We performed historic research and found drawings of similar doors in other NPRC buildings,” said James Monson, architect at MBA Architects. “How- ever, we wanted the benefits of modern technologies.” MBA worked with Midland to create a truly beautiful set of oversized doors. They each measure 12 feet wide by 16 feet tall and weigh 2,300 pounds. After several discussions between the architect and structural engineer, the team at Midland proposed a design to MBA and Drek- ker. They mirrored the pattern and elements of the main entrance door. Heavy, dark lines contrast the windowpanes and pop against the light brick building. “The goal was to mimic the contour of the arches on the openings and custom windows in the middle arch,” Myrvik said. “So we ensured our glass followed the curvature of the arch. We utilized aluminum grids embedded in the glass to create the same look as the mullions in the windows. This helped create a cohesive look for all three sections.” The southern door is a vertical bi-fold door that serves as a shipping and receiving entrance. It’s made with heavy-gauge steel tubing and has a fully automated operating system. The doors open and close qui- etly in seconds, a critical necessity when the doors are used throughout the day while customers are present. Forklifts bring loads of supplies, beer, and trash through the doors upwards of 10 times per hour. The door on the north side of the building is also a vertical bi-fold, but operates manually with a pin and latch system. The handles inside the doors make it easy for one person to manually open them. The north side of Brewhalla features a patio area with outdoor seating and a parking area for food trucks, which makes the large opening ideal. “We plan on having the door open during warm summer nights,” Montplai- sir said. “Being able to walk back and forth from the firepit to the bar will be convenient when the weather is nice.” Alternatively, both doors have a weathertight seal to help to combat the cold North Dakota winter weather. A truly custom solution When it comes to working with the structure of an old building, sym- metry is never guaranteed. The settling and shifting of a building over time posed challenges for the contractors installing new pieces into an old building.
“They had a hard time framing everything in here,” Montplaisir said. “We have a big cooler in the back that doesn’t sit up against the wall. The bottom of the cooler is 10 inches away from the wall and the top of the cooler is touching the wall. Everything in the building is a little crooked.” The arches for the door aren’t symmetric, either, meaning the team at Midland had to precisely measure each door to ensure the perfect fit. Because the building is constructed out of uneven brick, the team had to laser measure the arches incrementally across the opening. They then had to lay out the measurements in modeling software, average out the dimensions, and create symmetric-looking doors. “Not only were the walls not perfectly straight, but we were attach- ing large heavy doors to the structure,” Myrvik said. “The building wasn’t built for the weight of these doors. The wall was angled in and not structurally capable of handling the doors. The structural engineer designed support columns that ran from the floor to the roof truss. We then anchored our frame to the supports.” After measuring and manufacturing the doors, delivery and installa- tion took only a couple of days. Each of the two doors took a team of two men and roughly 16 hours to install. From there, they tested the mechanical components and performed operational tests on the doors. When people enter the parking lot of Brewhalla, their awe is visible. “They get out of their cars and you can see them say ‘wow,’” Montplai- sir said. “That’s one of our continuing goals: to keep people saying ‘wow.’” And they do. Customers are able to enjoy their beer and conversation, looking around the taproom with wide eyes. And while they won’t be interrupted by the sounds of opening and closing delivery doors, they may occasionally hear a passing train. About Midland Door Solutions Midland Door Solutions is a full-service door manufacturer that de- signs, builds, and installs custom bi-fold and hydraulic doors for agri- culture, aviation, and commercial buildings, and custom designs doors for architectural plans for home and commercial uses. For nearly 25 years, it has provided customers with durable, high-quality doors and unparalleled customer service. Midland Door Solutions is a sister com- pany to Midland Garage Door Manufacturing Company, West Fargo, North Dakota, a garage door manufacturer that has been delivering garage door solutions to homeowners since 1975. For more informa- tion: Midland Door Solutions, 1021 7th St. N.E., West Fargo, N.D., 58078, 800-921-7008, info@midlanddoorsolutions.com, www.midlanddoorsolutions.com.
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csengineermag.com february 2020
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