February 3, 2020

How to choose the right commercial entrance door

Written by Lucy Thompson

Finding the best entrance door to commercial buildings

Commercial buildings nearly always hold sensitive information both about clients and the business itself. The entrance door to the building is the main safety barrier between hundreds of passers-by in the outside world and a business’s financial assets. Strong entrance doors, ideally with a metal core, are a good investment, especially if the building is home to vital company assets, products and records.

The difference between a commercial entrance door and a residential door is the integral strength of the door. This isn’t to say that residential entrance doors aren’t secure, the difference is that commercial doors are usually thicker and are housed in a more heavy-duty frame to securely hold the robust door in place.

The entrance door, and if applicable the shop font design, is an important aspect to consider in terms of style. The front of a building or shop is where many clients will start to build their first impressions of a company, therefore the entrance design needs to be considered carefully to begin to tell the brands identity. Choosing the right entrance door is important; crossing the threshold into a building is a statement that should create a positive memory for the client.

A large majority of entrance doors are traditionally manufactured from wood, however for a more secure door, there are metal and glass options. There are also options available that have a strong metal core with a choice of finishes on the interior and exterior sides of the door – so if a wooden aesthetic is desired but you need a strong metal core then these types of doors are worth considering. One range of entrance doors to consider for commercial buildings is the IQ Ingresso range.

What is the IQ Ingresso range of entrance doors?

The IQ Ingresso range is a beautifully modern range of entrance doors all with high levels of integrated security and sophisticated design. The doors included in this range are the Apertio Solid Entrance Door, the Apertio Glass Entrance Door and the Belgravia Entrance Door. Each of these door systems offers a unique aesthetic to suit a variety of architectural designs.

The Apertio Solid Entrance Door is constructed from a core leaf tray 15/10 galvanised sheet steel plated in zinc, which is reinforced by 6 horizontal and 2 vertical reinforcing bars. This internal structure provides the door with Class 3 ‘break in resistance’ (and PAS24 compliant). This level of resistance has been tested on the doors measuring up to 2200mm wide x 3000mm tall for not only impressive strength but also impressive sizes.

The security aspects don’t end with the strong core, the locking mechanism is an advanced system with 4 shoot bolts in the centre of the door and 2 more at the top and base of the door for additional security.

The beauty of the Apertio Solid is the vast range of finishes that can be applied to the inner and outer faces. There are also different options for the internal face and outer face so that you can have different finishes on each. For example, it’s possible to have a porcelain finish on the exterior and a wooden finish on the interior – depending on the desired appearance.

The Apertio Glass Entrance Door fits beautifully within fully glazed shop fronts or building entrances. The glass used within the door is triple glazed with a triple glazed laminate high security outer pane and a double laminate inner pane. This impressive entrance door has a ‘break in resistance’ of Class 3, just like the Apertio Solid.

This glass entrance door is available in several configurations, it can be designed as a single pivoting door within a glass façade as previously mentioned, or it is available with side glazing that IQ will install alongside the entrance door. The door frame that holds the glass is a thermally broken aluminium frame that can be finished in a range of specialist finishes including Deep Blue, Gold, Copper and Smoke.

Not dissimilar to the Apertio Solid, the Apertio Glass is manufactured with an integrated, automated euro cylinder lock with 8-point locking which can be operated by: a manual locking system, fingerprint recognition, smartphone, key card and keypad systems.

Last in the range is the Belgravia Entrance Door, a luxurious design with built-in security (an electro-galvanised steel core with 3 horizontal reinforcing bars and 2 vertical omegas for impressive integral strength). This door was designed for commercial buildings within Conservation Areas where regulations mean that the external façade of buildings need to maintain the original aesthetics of the local area (including the entrance doors). Therefore, this sophisticated design allows a traditional exterior finish while the internal face can be as modern as the building’s interior design.

This modern door is perfect for businesses within the Chelsea Conservation Areas. There is a choice of door knockers, spy holes and handle options to choose from that accentuate the traditional aesthetic even further. The Belgravia Door can be designed in a range of configurations, including transom glass and sidelight with various glass options, just speak to the team for all the configurations.

Commercial glass entrance doors

The doorway or foyer to a commercial building ultimately says a lot about a business and paves the way for how a client or customers see your company. Investing in a sophisticated glass entrance design reflects the contemporary ideas and ethos of the company that can build your brand’s identity. The London office for Education First was recently renovated, part of this renovation was a new reception area with a bespoke Schuco automatic sliding entrance door. The interior design of Education First’s reception area featured a large amount of frameless interior glazing to create a light and airy broken place space, so the glass doors at the front complemented this beautifully.

There are many glass entrance door designs to meet the requirements and desired aesthetic of many commercial buildings. Frameless glass external doors look beautiful among minimally framed glass or even as part of a glass box extension at the front of a building that creates a light entrance area. To the Tower Vaults in London, IQ Projects designed and installed a large glass box extension onto the side of the listed building to create a Costa Coffee shop. Frameless glass pivot doors were installed to this coffee shop to complete the frameless glass style.

Glass canopy designs to complete commercial building entrances

To complement the contemporary aesthetic of a new entrance door on a commercial building, a structural glass canopy can be the perfect finishing touch. A glass canopy can be a single piece of structural glass or it can be a larger installation that’s supported by beams and steel metal works.

A structural glass canopy was installed to the Spire Roding Hospital in Essex to provide shelter to the frameless glass entrance doors. This glass canopy was constructed using structural glass panes, supported by structural glass beams and slim steel legs. Structural glass canopies can be installed above all of IQ Projects entrance doors to make the entrance stand out, making a statement at street level.

Our team have worked on many commercial entrance projects from structural glass lobbies to revolving doors and hotel foyers. For advice on your entrance design contact our team at hello@iqprojectsuk.com or call 01494 722 880.