Orr Cadillac

Driving the Design for a Brand-New Cadillac Dealership

For more than a century, Cadillac has secured an enviable position as one of the most luxurious car brands in the industry. For its dealership locations around the United States, Cadillac promises its customers a shopping experience that parallels driving any of its top-of-the-line vehicles. When construction began on a new dealership – Orr Cadillac in Shreveport, LA – the team of architects made certain they specified doors that would match the brand’s ethos: Luxury, craftsmanship, innovation, and style. That meant the entryways needed to adhere to a higher standard.

Breaking the Mold

The design of the building included six door openings considered “customer touchpoints,” and architects determined that each of these entrances should feature Ellison doors due to their high-end design and effortless operation. In whole, the dealership features ten brushed aluminum Ellison custom balanced doors specified to match the building’s storefronts and curtain wall design. Each door stands nine feet tall, and of the six entrance portals, four are pairs and two are single-door entrances.

“Any door that a customer could interact with needed to be an Ellison custom balanced door,” said Ben Bledsoe, AIA, principal at Bledsoe Architects. “Ellison was able to design the doors to match existing building elements and create the beautiful, luxurious finish we wanted.”

While aesthetics were critical, finding a door that delivered on performance was a key factor as well. For the customer touchpoints, traditional hinge-style doors would not suffice. Only the Cadillac of doors would do.

Strength and Grace

Despite being constructed from heavy materials such as bronze, extruded aluminum, or stainless steel, Ellison balanced doors still open gracefully with ease. This was a crucial consideration when selecting them for Orr Cadillac.

“There is no doubt that Ellison balanced doors offer enhanced operability,” added Bledsoe. “Each Ellison door that will be used by the public at Orr Cadillac features a vertical continuous pull bar, which makes them much easier to open. The difference is noticeable.”

An Ellison balanced door features an inset pivot point at two-thirds the width of the door, distributing its weight and requiring less force to open than a traditional hinged door. The inset fulcrum point allows for reduced opening force even against strong winds or internal building stack pressure.

Ellison’s commitment to functionality and aesthetics is unmatched. The organization provides detailed record keeping and full warranties on each door they manufacture, leading to easy maintenance when necessary. Additionally, all Ellison balanced hardware components are machined in-house, making replacement materials readily available. Ellison’s in-house assembly and door checklist ensures that each door is functionally and aesthetically sound before leaving the facility, helping to ensure effective, trouble-free installation.

Ellison Bronze also helped expedite the project schedule.

“In this day and age of problematic, delayed material deliveries, Ellison was a supplier that we had zero issues with. The doors were on time and complete when they arrived, which aided in streamlining the installation and overall construction timeline,” Bledsoe added.

Orr Cadillac was completed in the summer of 2022. In addition to Ellison Bronze and Bledsoe Architects, the project team included Ellison representative Texas Glazing Solutions and door installers Architectural Glass Erectors.