BuildEmpire: Kisi Seamlessly Installed in a Historic Building

Hannah, the office manager at BuildEmpire was very clear on what the company needed when looking for a new access control system. A read-in, read-out system that worked through the cloud, could be managed from anywhere, and integrated seamlessly with their own computer system allowing employees to be granted access at whatever times they are working by either a keyring, fob or phone access. 

“The Towers” in Manchester England are Grade II listed. We worked hard with the head building officer to ensure no guidelines were broken, and wires were all hidden.

"The Kisi readers all looked fantastic once they were installed," - Hannah

1) Can you give more details about the regulations and guidelines you faced in the historic building?

It is possible to modernize a Grade II listed property, but you must play by the rules... Buildings are listed for a reason. They may have a special historic or architectural interest which it is important to conserve and they may be located in an area that is historically important.

Although internal alterations do not normally require planning permission they will most likely need listed building consent. Certainly removing historic features such as fireplaces, stairs, decorative plasterwork or panelling will usually need formal consent. In the case of the Kisi installation, an older access control system was in place in most areas so we retro fit and hid the wiring into the floor or walls.

2) What were the most important factors to consider when installing access control in that environment?

The most important factors was who is in the building and when,  and to make the install look as conspicuous as possible. Kisi has great back-up, and pre-programmed all of BuildEmpire’s access rights and software integration before we came to install it for the client.