Slide Away: 7 Stunning Minimalist Residences With Slick Sliding Doors

Architects: Showcase your next project through Architizer and sign up for our inspirational newsletter.

How many doors do you glide through in any given day? The answer may be, more than you are cognizant of. Including bedroom doors, elevator doors, subway train doors and beyond, the magical portals that we pass through in daily life are countless. Functionally, doors act as important gateways through which humans transition from one programmatic space to another. In addition, like the drawers of a building, they help us understand and compartmentalize what we do, when we do it and where we do it.

With that in mind, it is easy to see how well-executed door design is imperative. The following collection was carefully curated to present seven homes that have refined sliding doors down to a beautiful structural science. Less common than a traditional swing door, these sliding doors help transcend the divide between interior and exterior space, through invoking an invisible quality. Working with innovative door manufacturers such as Vitrocsa and Western Window Systems, these architects created stunning spaces that optimize connections with their surrounding environments.

House in Melides by Pedro Reis Arquitecto, Melides, Portugal

Sliding Doors by Vitrocsa

House in Melides focuses on the essence of being inside and outside at once. Located on the southern coast of Portugal, the architects determined their ideal building location by examining the level exposure to the sun, protection from the wind and finding a vista between the hills and the ocean. The house solidifies its relationship with the outdoors through massive sliding doors, created by minimalist manufacturer Vitrocsa. Driven by uncluttered lines and a less-is-more philosophy, Vitrocsa offered a perfect solution for creating seamless transitional space throughout the home.

Villa at Sengokubara by Shigeru Ban Architects, Odawara, Japan

Since Villa at Sengokubara is located on a flagpole-shaped site, all spaces are arranged in a radial manner around an interior courtyard. Eight sliding doors separate the main living areas, including kitchen and dining spaces, from the large interior courtyard. At any time, all of the doors can be dramatically opened up, merging the two spaces into one.

Sonoma Connect 5 by Connect Homes, Sonoma, Calif., United States

Sliding Doors by Western Window Systems

Connect Homes builds sleek modular homes in Southern California. From doors to plumbing and electrical, every step of the building process is completed in factory. Delivered and installed regionally, each home is completed for $190 per square foot.

Intended as a home where the client’s mother could peacefully age, the client specified Sonoma Connect 5 to minimize door thresholds and optimize the glazing towards a beautiful oak tree in the back and views of the Sonoma Valley in the front. For this task, Connect Homes used Western Window Systems, which offers bold designs aimed at opening up views and blending the indoors with the outdoors.

Country Estate by Roger Ferris + Partners, Conn., United States

Sliding Doors by Vitrocsa

Originally designed in 1952, the client purchased this residence with the intention of restoring it and adding a new pool house, private gallery and garage. The new barn, which accommodates the owner’s contemporary art collection, is clad in black wood panels and was designed with a traditional gabled roof form. Country Estate features vast glazed sliding doors and archetypal barn doors that move horizontally along exposed tracks.

Hupomone Ranch by Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Architects, Petaluma, Calif., United States

Custom Wood Doors by Liberty Valley Doors

Hupomone Ranch is an original 160-acre homestead that had been fallow for over 30 years. The owners wanted to build a family barn house that would complement the setting and reflect their commitment to sustainable farming. On the house’s south-facing side, sliding doors are contextualized within a massive wall of glazed windows. On the property’s north side, the structure takes on a more traditional barn-like character, with custom wood sliding doors by Liberty Valley Doors.

Atrium Houseby Fran Silvestre Arquitectos, Spain

Sliding Doors and Invisible Frames by Vitrocsa

At Atrium House, several strategies were employed to make this urban home feel as spacious as possible. Expressed as a continuum of glazing wrapped around an expansive atrium and pool, the building was developed along the southern and western boundaries of the parcel of land. Made possible by Vitrocsa’s sliding doors and invisible frames, the home’s spatial organization allows residents to view the central space and light reflected on water from several rooms within the house.

James River House by ARCHITECTUREFIRM, Scottsville, Va., United States

Series 600 Multi-Slide Door by Western Window Systems

The James River House is a riverside retreat designed for a family with three children. The house is a collection of three distinct volumes, each serving its own programmatic function. The arrangement allows visitors to slip between and through the house, at each opening getting a glimpse of streams of light, sections of river and parcels of woods. The volumes are divided by both wood and glazed sliding doors that add a remarkable form of tangible interaction with the home’s design.

Architects: Showcase your next project through Architizer and sign up for our inspirational newsletter.