"We wanted clients to be able to seamlessly move outside and make the connection with what they are visually taking in,” says Fogelstrom Design Build Principal Designer Brett Fogelstrom in reference to a recently completed project in Oregon.

Photo courtesy of LaCantina Doors

Selecting multi-slide glass doors creates a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor living spaces.

Creating a connection between indoors and outdoors is a design goal for both commercial and residential buildings. While glass offers a visual channel to connect to the outside, too often the actual physical transition to exterior environments is abrupt or dissonant.

Modern design means not only embracing a structure’s surrounding natural environment, but it also upholds the benefits of bringing the outdoors in by capturing daylight, bolstering indoor air quality, and improving the overall health of occupants.

New product offerings using multiple sliding door panels, or multi-slide doors, that stack or store in wall pockets now make it possible to fully connect indoor and outdoor spaces without interruptions. When open multi-slide doors allow indoor spaces to extend outward, creating an outdoor living experience with all the benefits of fresh air and daylight. When closed, attention to details and performance characteristics assure that multi-slide doors provide the needed protection from weather and climatic conditions.

Eliminating Divides with Multi-Slide Glass Doors

Not only does the integration of outdoors and indoors enhance occupant health, but many building designs also envelop outdoor spaces and incorporate them as part of the overall usable building footprint. This can capture valuable square footage for use.

Commercial building designs, restaurants, office buildings, and apartments all can benefit when welcoming outdoor weather conditions allow for activities like dining and meetings to occur both indoors and out. In residences, rooms that flow into patios, decks, or natural outdoor areas such as beaches or wooded areas give residents a direct connection to those outdoor spaces.

As the focal point of modern design embraces open spaces, architects and designers need products that can capture this attribute. Multi-slide doors offer a dynamic solution that transforms and innovates open spaces. Thoughtful selection of materials mean multi-slide doors are well suited for many different environments and climates and will enhance and complement any architectural style, creating an outdoor living experience for any space. By eliminating a wall or standard door installation, multi-slide products remove the distinction between the indoors and outdoors, creating a healthier, more comfortable environment with natural light and open air.

How to craft a transition that both allows for enjoyment of the outdoors yet still maintains the functional needs of the indoor spaces becomes the key design focus.

The Adaptability of the Multi-Slide Door

The uses for multi-slide doors are only limited by the imagination and creativity of the building designer.

Multi-slide glass doors are used today in a full range of building types and functional applications. Multi-slide doors allow residential buildings to open up entire walls and connect main living areas with outdoor spaces. Multifamily developments use multi-slide doors to create a larger living unit by extending floorplans to include outdoor balcony and common spaces. Restaurant and retail buildings can cater to customers who prefer to relax in outdoor spaces while still being directly connected to the indoor facilities. Resorts and hotels similarly can provide their guests with a convenient and inviting indoor/outdoor experience for individual rooms and common lobby, restaurant, or functional areas. Educational buildings that need the ability to expand or contract a space to accommodate gatherings can use multi-slide glass doors to redefine footprints. Offices that open to a central atrium or courtyard can use multi-slide doors to provide open access when desired or be closed off when needed.

CASE STUDY

Photo: © William James Photography

A glass wall was a must have for Ponzi Vineyards, creating a smooth transition through the space and allowing customers to experience the ever-changing environment through the seasons. Patrons can seamlessly move outside to make the connection between their natural surroundings and the wine being served and sampled.

Project: Ponzi Vineyards
Location: Sherwood, Oregon
Architect: Fogelstrom Design Build

Ponzi Vineyards is a family-owned and -operated winery located in the Willamette Valley, Oregon, outside of Portland known for its world-class Pinot Noir. Ponzi Vineyards began operation in the late 1960s, initially starting out as a 20-acre small farm. More than 50 years later, the Ponzi family is using the same methods and philosophies, but its passion and success for winemaking has expanded the vineyards to 130 acres.

A glass wall was a must have for the new indoor/outdoor project, known as Laurelwood, to create a smooth transition through the space and provide repeat customers the opportunity to experience the ever-changing environment through the seasons. Multi-slide doors were a natural choice for the project. An aluminum thermally controlled system was specified due to its 2¹⁵⁄₁₆-inch stile-and-rail profile to maximize the views and maintain energy efficiency during inclement weather.

“By visually and physically connecting to the vineyards, the agriculture becomes both a beautiful landscape as well as an important point of discussion,” says Principal Designer Brett Fogelstrom