Room With a View: 6 Architectural Doors Bringing the Outside In

The ability to blur the lines between interior and exterior is in high demand.

Sheila Kim Sheila Kim

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It may still be too early in the year to frolic in the great outdoors, but there’s never a wrong time to enjoy views to the outside, whether they’re vistas of a city skyline, tree-topped mountains or beach sand and water. And when milder days do return, the ability to further blur the lines between interior and exterior environments is in high demand.

We look at six head-turning door products — both residential and commercial — that help bring the outdoors beautifully in whether open or closed:

© Mark Boisclair Photography, Inc

© Mark Boisclair Photography, Inc

Pocket/Multi-Slide Doors by Fleetwood Windows and Doors

Fleetwood’s custom sliding doors can be designed to disappear completely into pockets or behind structural walls — offering the ultimate, open view. Thermally broken and non-thermally broken constructions are both available. The aluminum frames are Kynar-painted, anodized or coastal-finished (for projects within three miles of salt water). In addition to residential and commercial exteriors, these doors are well-suited to interior applications ranging from mall stores to conference-room dividers.

US.51 All Aluminum ULTRA Folding Door by Panda Windows

Rated for commercial and industrial projects, this heavy-duty folding door system utilizes stainless-steel carrier hinges that can support up to 450 pounds per set and sealed ball-bearing rollers that ensure smooth and trouble-free operation. US.51 accommodates an unlimited number of panels groups, with a maximum panel size of 42 inches wide by 120 inches high (or 144 inches high with a true divider), can be specified to fold inward or outward and can be installed top-hung or bottom-run.

Turnable Corner by Vitrocsa

This Swiss company’s incredibly slim-profile, full-height glass panels already afford stunning outdoor views. But its patent-pending Turnable Corner system (also shown at top) takes it up a notch by sliding open and, as its name states, using a swivel component to turn corners and create massive openings like no others. Currently, the glass panes can be specified up to 64.5 square feet with a maximum weight of 661 pounds.

Steel-Arte, Alumin-Arte and Wood Doors by Dynamic Architectural Windows and Doors

This company specializes in dramatic, oversized doors ranging from pivot and lift-and-slide to bi-folding glass doors capable of opening an entire wall. Best of all, Dynamic Architectural customizes openings to suit any architectural style, traditional or modern, rustic or urban.

Liftslide – Curved by Weiland by Andersen

Accommodating curved wall sections, this system comprises a series of door panels that lifts onto rollers to glide along an arced, weather-rated, flush track with a practically invisible profile only 3/16 of an inch high. The panels can be specified in sizes of up to 16 feet tall, and frames are constructed of Kynar-finished 6063 aluminum. Optional interior wood faces are available in mahogany, Douglas fir, walnut, cherry, alder and several other species. The flush tracks are extruded, corrosion-resistant, marine-grade aluminum.

Series 600 Multi-Slide Door by Western Window Systems

The Series 600 makes indoor-outdoor living effortless. Essentially a system of whole moving glass walls that stack or tuck into pockets, the doors boast dual-pane low-E glass for solar heat-gain management and have been air-, water- and structurally tested. Sealed, stainless-steel ball-bearing rollers offer smooth and easy operation regardless of panel weight. Additional options include flush and water barrier sills, screens and flush-mount or protruding handles.

Search for the best sliding doors through Architizer’s new community marketplace for building-products. Click here to sign up now. Are you a door manufacturer looking to connect with architects? Click here.

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