Horizontal Sliding-Door Systems: Opening New Opportunities for Design Flexibility

Since 2000, fire and building codes allow sliding-door systems for emergency egress
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The idea of doors not swinging for exit travel is a significant change, maybe one of the more significant changes in the building code for the last 60 years, Welch said. The change is in recognition of new technology that makes sliding-door systems ideal as both fire and smoke breaks and emergency exits, particularly for the disabled. This latter issue has been a primary concern for independent living and Universal Design advocates, because traditional swinging doors proved to be cumbersome for people in wheelchairs.

Universal Design is the approach to design that allows the use of the built environment by all people, regardless of age, ability or situation. It is an attempt to integrate accessibility requirements such as those under the Americans with Disabilities Act into one broad approach to make environments usable.

Emergency egress standards developed post-World War II in particular did not adequately consider the needs of the disabled. The problem was first recognized by Ed Roberts, a paraplegic appointed by then-California Governor Jerry Brown to be director of the state Department of Rehabilitation, who started thinking about how people with disabilities were supposed to escape from upper floors and buildings in general in the event of an emergency or fire. What happens if there's a power failure? People in wheelchairs obviously couldn't heed the admonition outside elevators that "in case fire, use the stairs." Safe staging areas for emergency evacuation were needed.

Interior doors that were heavy and swung out or in posed another problem for those in wheelchairs. Getting the door open and getting through was unwieldy at best and sometimes impossible.

Sliding-door systems actually had an advantage in this regard. Manufacturers developed sensors, integrated processors, and motor technology that controlled the opening and closing of the partitions with maximum precision for any circumstance. Today's sliding-door systems can open with very little pressure, and have a manual override feature. Backup power systems are built in. In addition, a person in a wheelchair can simply bump into accordion-style sliding-door systems and they will spring open in an emergency. The systems also automatically stop closing if there's any obstruction, but then resume closing after a pause to maintain the integrity of the partition, similar to most elevator doors.

"A large horizontal sliding door in a fire-rated partition raises a number of questions: is it self-closing? What measures can be taken to prevent it from being blocked? What are the implications for someone trying to pass through the doorway as it is closing?" said A. Vernon Woodworth, AIA, principal in the Sullivan Code Group at the Boston-based R.W. Sullivan Engineering.

The use of electronic sensors and controls can address these concerns, Woodworth said. "This adds a new layer of complexity to building design and maintenance," he said. But, he noted, "The issue of expectations and habit are key to behavior in the built environment, and doors are for people and their use. Side-swinging doors present obstacles for people in wheelchairs whereas sliding doors do not."

 

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Originally published in Architectural Record.
Originally published in December 2006

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