Bank of America Tower

Ellison Doors Fit the Bill for
LEED^® V4 Platinum Skyscraper

Houston, Texas is expected to move from the fourth most populous U.S. city to the third in the coming years. To support the anticipated growth, the city is adding modern commercial skyscrapers, high-end residential towers, and the right infrastructure.

The latest addition to the booming city’s skyline is at 800 Capitol Street, the Bank of America Tower. The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank consolidated three downtown offices into the recently constructed, state-of-the art building, putting more than 600 employees under one roof.

Ellison Bronze, manufacturer of premier custom balanced doors for entrances around the world, provided doors for four separate entryways at the 35-story, 780,000-square-foot building.

Ellison balanced doors are ideal for heavily trafficked pedestrian pathways such as at the entrances of the newest Houston skyscraper. The doors are especially advantageous during the busy morning rush and afternoon departure. Quality construction, durable materials and components, and unique balanced hardware that allows for air pressure relief at both sides of the door leaf all lead to truly effortless operation.

For the Bank of America Tower, Momentum Exterior Systems installed Ellison balanced doors at three street-level exterior portals. Win-Con installed the final entrance, a vestibule located on the 12th floor. Each street-level entrance features two single Ellison balanced doors surrounding a separate revolving door. The building itself was designed by leading architectural firm Gensler. W&W Glass designed the structural glass walls on the ground floor.

The stainless steel Ellison balanced doors were finished in US32D satin to match the ground floor’s entrance framing materials in addition to the canopy above the doors. These street entrances lead to a two-level, open-air lobby that also gives access to Houston’s underground pedestrian tunnel system, which features a selection of restaurants and retail establishments.

When potential changes to the project specifications were considered, the team had to make their case. “When the owner wanted to make modifications to the entrances, we insisted on keeping Ellison on the job,” said Jeff Haber, managing partner at W&W Glass.

The architect, Gensler, has specified Ellison balanced doors for many of their commercial projects over the years, including the Peoplesoft (now Oracle) headquarters in Pleasanton, CA; the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, CA; and the Hess Tower in Houston, Texas, among a host of others.

There are significant advantages for owners when balanced doors from Ellison are specified and installed on a project. The company’s innovative balanced hardware, which comes equipped on all of their balanced doors, allows them to open in an elliptical motion path that reduces sidewalk projection by one-third. This is especially vital in busy cities like Houston, Chicago, and New York City where strict sidewalk codes have been established. The reduced door leaf projection frees up valuable space on the pavement, decreasing the risk for interference with pedestrians.

“Ellison doors stand out for their ease of use, durability, and longevity,” Haber remarked. “For the Bank of America Tower, we only provided best-in-class products that we would be happy having our name associated with. With the enhanced value and performance that Ellison doors deliver, we’re always confident in recommending them.”

Ellison doors are made from the highest-quality materials and designed to last a lifetime with proper maintenance. Featuring solid internal subframe construction, thicker materials compared to traditional entries, and the most innovative balanced hardware in the industry, Ellison doors enhance high-performance projects like Bank of America Tower with their beauty and function.

“For commercial skyscrapers that typically experience stack pressure and heavy foot traffic, Ellison doors provide superior ease of use,” Haber added.

Ellison also provides detailed record keeping and full warranties on each door they manufacture. This is important considering their extensive lifespan and is an added benefit for the installation team and building owners. In addition, every Ellison door is imprinted with an individual project number to facilitate easy tracking and maintenance, and all balanced hardware components are machined in-house at Ellison’s Falconer, NY, facility so replacements are readily available upon request.

Bank of America Tower achieved LEED^® V4 Platinum certification by the USGBC because of its daylight harvesting technology, a 40-percent parking reduction, tenant metering, alternative vehicle charging stations, and a rainwater collection system.

In addition to Ellison Bronze, the project team included architect Gensler; facade and glass enclosure specialty contractor W&W Glass; glass and glazing manufacturer and installer Momentum Exterior Systems; building envelope contractor Win-Con; and Ellison Bronze’s independent representative Texas Glazing Solutions.

The last of the Ellison doors were installed on the building in June 2019, the same month Bank of America Tower opened.