Door of the future

Doors Spring 2014

Dyre Magnus Vaa B.Architectural Technology & Construction Management

Mohammad J. Almutawa B.Architecture

Dmitriy MaletskiyMSc. Rocket & Missile Systems

Sema AksuB. Architecture

Kristjan JagomannBSc. Mechanical Engineering

Martina GrgićBSc. Mechanical Engineering

Mart KekiševBA. Metal Art and Design

IntroductionIn collaboration with Jeld Wen Estonia, we set out to develop the door

of the future. The concentration of the project is design research for

new possibilities and outcomes for industry partners, business idea

development and the new possible outcomes for technology develop-

ment. Based on the research results a new conceptual product solution

idea is developed and showcased as a working prototype.

Team

Martin PärnEstonian Academy of Arts

Ruth-Helene MelioranskiTallinn University of Technology

Supervisors

FOCUS06 Door as a communication tool Scope of Research 07 Methodology Tools and Avenues of Research

RESEARCH OVERVIEW08 What is a Door? Parts, Processes and Meanings 10 History and Culture Anthropological and social view

12 Differentiation of Space Public vs. Private

13 Interaction and User Habits Connecting to People

17 Levels of Control Incremental Change, Big Difference

18 Market Research Understandings Users and Needs

20 Manufacturing, Materials and Technology Production Possibilities

FINDINGS 22 Conclusion Interpretation of Results & Summary of Findings

23 Future Development The Next Step

RESOURCES 62 Appendix Source Material and bibliography

RE

SE

AR

CH

MOD Modular Panel Door

27 Concept 28 Design30 Context32 Technical Solutions33 Prototype34 User Testing35 Future Dev

DIVE Multifunctional Folding Door

38 Concept 40 Development42 Design44 Prototype46 Future Dev

VEIL Dynamic Curtain Wall

50 Concept 52 Design54 Context56 Mechanics57 Materials58 Prototype59 Future DevP

RO

JEC

TS

6 •

Through market research we aim to understand what is current-

ly available to users now and what messages doors are being

designed to convey, whilst also finding out what users want from

their doors and what things they seek to express.

Looking into production with respect to manufacturing, mate-

rial science and technology, we are able to find out what the

future communication possibilities are and how we can move

forward with utilizing the door as an effective and clear means

of communicating certain messages and relaying information.

with utilizing the door as an effective and clear means of com-

municating certain messages and relaying information.

DOOR AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL

HOW CAN A DOOR BECOME WE OBTAIN FROM A DOOR?A COMMUNICATION TOOL?

OPEN. CLOSED. TRANSPARENT. LOCKED.

WHAT INFORMATION CAN

LIGHT. SOUND. TOUCH. COLOR. SHAPE.

Doors are used daily as a communication tool, whether it’s

through signage, color-coding, lights or simply by the state of

the door, whether it is open or closed, there is a message being

sent and information to be obtained.

We are focusing on how different messages could be sent in

different settings, in personal spaces and public place, as well as

how this information translates to user action and habits.

We’re interested in finding out more about the origins of a door

being used as a communication tool through an anthropological

and cultural precedence.

We seek to investigate the new ways one can control their

environment through a door, and how information can be con-

trolled on multiple levels. Be it privacy, security or openness and

friendliness.

• 7

METHODOLOGYThe way in which we intend to conduct our research

Data ScavengingWe intend to scavenge various resources

for information that is related to our

topic. Our primary resource would be

the Internet, starting off by looking for

articles, topics, definitions and images of keywords that make up

our research. Within this approach, we are focused on quantity

of information, amassing a large shared database for our collec-

tive work.

We will then go through the collected information and start

categorizing it and grouping related information together comb-

ing through the entire database until everything cataloged and

sorted.

All through out the sorting process, information that is relevant

to our research is kept and anything irrelevant is removed from

the collection.

Our intention with this approach is to search and discover as

much as possible, in as little time as possible to build a shared

knowledge repository and familiarize ourselves with our topic

and what currently is out there.

1.

Literature ReviewThroughout the data scavenging process,

we would have collected a large array of

articles and other published work rel-

evant to our research. We will go through

the material, reading and understanding what the intention of

the work was, what others have found out and how that aligns

with what we set out to find.

From social studies to empirical research papers, the intention

of this method was to find out supported data, and evidence we

can use to substantiate our claims.

5.

InterviewsWe set out to interview users to find

out more about their impressions and

thoughts on the topic. We were seeking

information about how users approached

a door, what it meant to them, whether they were consciously

or subconsciously receiving or sending messages and also their

ideas on what a door could be, what the door of the future can

be and what they wanted to see from their own doors through

the customizations they make or wish to have.

This is valuable data to understand the market, and to generate

and develop new concepts that are accepted by users. The inter-

views help us confirm the basis of some ideas we’ve discovered

and help us discover new ideas.

4.

Mood-boardingOne of the ways we sorted the images we

gathered from the scavenging phase was

to create mood boards of certain topics

and work together to place images that

convey and inspire the mood of certain key points.

The point of this method was to develop a feel for what the

topic is about, to see how others viewed a certain topic and set

a tone for the research. We set out to turn tacit knowledge into

shared knowledge.

2.

ShadowingShadowing was an important research

method where we got to follow around

users and observe how certain doors

were being used and are being interacted

with. We got to see real world situations where people would act

and do things naturally where they wouldn’t have to consciously

think. They were unaware of filming which means they didn’t

perform out of the ordinary.

We set out to notice patterns and occurrences that happen with

door by people and document them and see if there are any

issues that arise that need attention or habits that integrate that

have to be preserved.

3.

Acquire Materials

Shape intoComponents Assemble Store Shipping

Manufacturer

WoodMetalPlastic

MillingSawingCasting

JoiningGluingScrewingNailingWelding

Store DistributionNetworking Shipping

Distributor

Warehousing ContractsRelationsConnecting

TransportingWarehousing Transporting

Store Marketingand Sales

Retailer

Warehousing AdvertisingPricingTransactions

In-store

Delivery+ Assembly

TransportingInstalling

Extraction Storing

Raw material Processing

TransportingMillingSawingCasting

Warehousing

ShippingProcessing

LoggingMining

Feedback Prototype

Research and Development

Detail Material Manufacture

TestingFurther development

Identify NeedsOptions

InvestigateMarketInterviewQuestionaire

Opportunities InnovationResearch Idea / Concept

Prototype

Design Process


Design Development

Design Documentation

DrawingBill of materialsPlanning




Forest

Mine

Storage Pre-Production Storage

Components

Assembly ShopConstruction Site

Shop Storage

End User

WebShop

New UserRecycling Centre

2nd Hand Shop

Repair

Recycle

DissassembleRemelt

Reuse

RepairResell

Incineration

HeatEnergy

Land�ll

MethaneCO2

Mar

ket

Prod

uctio

nUs

er

8 •

A door is a simple architectural component. It is the face of a house, the beginning of

a room, a means of opening and closing a space, and a way of protection. It signals the

borderline between a public and private space, as well as gives control over the access

into the space.

Doors are a living architectural element, they’re dynamic and interactive. It is the part

the users touch regularly and use to convey and receive certain signals and messages

about the use of the space.

There are a set of systems of which a door is comprised off, each one carries a different

function. The physical separation of space through a door panel, movement through

hinges and slides, and locks to have control over access. Door also is a way to gain infor-

mation and communicate what is hidden behind the door or explain what is happening

is occurring behind it or clarify the mode of door in action.

WHAT IS A DOOR?“A gateway to new possibilities, adven-tures, and rooms.”

Acquire Materials

Shape intoComponents Assemble Store Shipping

Manufacturer

WoodMetalPlastic

MillingSawingCasting

JoiningGluingScrewingNailingWelding

Store DistributionNetworking Shipping

Distributor

Warehousing ContractsRelationsConnecting

TransportingWarehousing Transporting

Store Marketingand Sales

Retailer

Warehousing AdvertisingPricingTransactions

In-store

Delivery+ Assembly

TransportingInstalling

Extraction Storing

Raw material Processing

TransportingMillingSawingCasting

Warehousing

ShippingProcessing

LoggingMining

Feedback Prototype

Research and Development





Opportunities InnovationResearch Idea / Concept

Prototype

Design Process


Design Development

Design Documentation

DrawingBill of materialsPlanning




Forest

Mine

Storage Pre-Production Storage

Components

Assembly ShopConstruction Site

Shop Storage

End User

WebShop

New UserRecycling Centre

2nd Hand Shop

Repair

Recycle

DissassembleRemelt

Reuse

RepairResell

Incineration

HeatEnergy

Land�ll

MethaneCO2

Mar

ket

Prod

uctio

nUs

er

• 9

Looking past a door being an object

in the exists in the present time, it is

overshadowed by the sheer amounts of

processes that precede and succeed it

overlapping each other. Raw materials

are cut down and extracted and shipped

to where they are processed and stored

until they are shipped once again to

where they are shaped to create compo-

nents. Components are brought together

and assembled based off designs and

ideas generated by designers, engineers

and marketers, all built on the needs of

end users.

People use doors everyday, multiple

times a day. Doors are integrated into

the routine and lives of people around

the globe, they are a necessity, and a

commodity. They are the means of which

users separate their space from others,

a way to feel secure and private, and a

vehicle in which they can control their

climate.

Doors also transcend the physical realm.

Doors don’t have to be tangible but are

a way to imply entry and acceptance,

opportunity and barriers. Doors are a

state of mind, they’re a passageway into

ideas, feelings, and perceptions. They’re a

threshold on what entrenched on what

one considers their self. Doors attribute

themselves to the start of journeys and

exist to serve a links to points in time

whether it is the past, present or future.

UNPACKNG

A DOORS INTO IT’S

VARIOUS

COMPONENTS, PROCESSES

AND MEANINGS.

10 •

HISTORY AND CULTURE ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL VIEW

he earliest records are those represented in the

paintings of the Egyptian tombs, in which they

are shown as single or double doors, each in a

single piece of wood. The most ancient doors

were in timber, those made for King Solomon’s temple being in

olive wood, which were carved and overlaid with gold. The doors

dwelt upon in Homer would appear to have been cased in silver

or brass. Besides Olive wood, elm, cedar, oak and cypress were

used. A 5,000-year-old door has been found by archaeologists in

Switzerland.

All ancient doors were hung by pivots at the top and bottom of

the hanging stile which worked in sockets in the lintel and sill,

the latter being always in some hard stone such as basalt or

granite. The tenons of the gates at Balawat were sheathed with

bronze (now in the British Museum). Other sheathings of various

sizes in bronze have been found, which proves this to have been

the universal method adopted to protect the wood pivots. In the

Hauran in Syria, where timber is scarce the doors were made in

stone, and one measuring 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) by 2 ft 7 in (0.79 m)

is in the British Museum; the band on the meeting stile shows

that it was one of the leaves of a double door. At Kuffeir near

Bostra in Syria, Burckhardt found stone doors, 9 to 10 ft (3.0 m).

high, being the entrance doors of the town.

The ancient Greek and Roman doors were either single doors,

double doors, sliding doors or folding doors, in the last case the

leaves were hinged and folded back.

The Greek scholar Heron of Alexandria created the earliest

known automatic door in the 1st century AD during the era of

Roman Egypt. The first foot-sensor-activated automatic door

was made in China during the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui (r.

604–618), who had one installed for his royal library. The first

automatic gate operators were later created in 1206 by the

Arabic inventor, Al-Jazari.

Copper and its alloys were integral in medieval architecture. The

THISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

doors of the church of the Nativity at Bethlehem (6th century)

are covered with plates of bronze, cut out in patterns. Those

of Hagia Sophia at Constantinople, of the 8th and 9th century,

are wrought in bronze, and the west doors of the cathedral

of Aix-la-Chapelle (9th century), of similar manufacture, were

probably brought from Constantinople, as also some of those in

St. Marks, Venice. The bronze doors on the Aachen Cathedral in

Germany date back to about AD 800. Bronze baptistery doors at

the Cathedral of Florence were completed in 1423 by Ghiberti.

Of the 11th and 12th centuries there are numerous examples

of bronze doors, the earliest being one at Hildesheim,Germany

(1015). In all these cases the hanging stile had pivots at the top

and bottom. The exact period when the hinge was substituted

is not quite known, but the change apparently brought about

another method of strengthening and decorating doors, with

wrought-iron bands of infinite varieties of design. As a rule three

bands from which the ornamental work springs constitute the

hinges, which have rings outside the hanging stiles fitting on to

vertical tenons run into the masonry or wooden frame. There is

an early example of the 12th century in Lincoln; in France the

metalwork of the doors of Notre Dame at Paris is perhaps the

most beautiful in execution, but examples are endless through-

out France and England.

Returning to Italy, the most celebrated doors are those of the

Battistero di San Giovanni (Florence), which together with the

door frames are all in bronze, the borders of the latter being

perhaps the most remarkable: the modeling of the figures, birds

and foliage of the south doorway, by Andrea Pisano (1330).

In the Renaissance period the Italian doors are quite simple,

their architects trusting more to the doorways for effect; but in

France and Germany the contrary is the case, the doors being

elaborately carved, especially in the Louis XIV and Louis XV peri-

ods, and sometimes with architectural features such as columns

and entablatures with pediment and niches, the doorway being

in plain masonry.

• 11

Doors are as ancient as the human abode and so have become

part of our conscious and subconscious being. Throughout his-

tory and across cultures doors, doorways, portals, gates and

thresholds have been potent objects and symbols of supersti-

tion, rites and rituals, psychological change, transcendental and

religious experience. Doors occur metaphorically in our expres-

sions and recur in our dreams.

The door, physically and symbolically, involves a change of state.

At mundane level, a door means control over illumination, intru-

sion, acoustical disturbance, visual engagement, social interfer-

ence and movement of air and pollution and thermal emission.

At symbolic level a door offers hope, new life or fresh beginning,

isolation from the familiar, ventures into unknown, initiation into

mysteries, fear and expanded communications. At spiritual level

it provides an encounter with the supernatural, a communion

and unification with the creator. As Christ said, ‘I am the door,’

and ‘no one comes to the Father but through Me.’

Mystically, an open door represents good fortune, a new open-

ing in life, or a desire to open up the feelings. A revolving door

means a monotonous period ahead and a trap door predicts

shocking news, a door knob means unexpected good luck, hing-

es bring family problems. A locked door shows missed oppor-

tunities, denial of opportunities, or can represent ‘need to close

the door over the past’. A door opening outward may show that

one needs to be more accessible to others. However, an inward

opening door may represent the desire for inner exploration and

self-discovery. A front door is a normal entrance and a back door

a nominal one. A house with one door is a preferred abode. Evil

spirits enter the house from a back door.

GUARDIANS OF THE DOOR:

A door as an entrance needs protection so that evil spirits are

warded off it, and as an exit point good fortunes or luck does not

escape out of it. Doors have protective charms. The most com-

MYTHS AND LEGENDS

mon charm for the door is the horse shoe. Other objects include

olive branches, statuettes of gods, angels and saints. (For more

refer to Chapter: 4.3 Openings systems: Treatments).

Portals, doors and gates had inevitable protectors or guardians in

the form of real or horrible humans, beasts and monsters. These

figures ‘fawn on all who enter, but rend all who would pass

there again (after death)’. The creatures were such as: winged

genii in the form of bulls, scorpions, human-headed lions -the

sphinx, lions, Dwarpal, Yaksha. Other forms like Christ, Michael,

Gabriel, archangels, Ganesha, Hanuman, signs of the zodiac and

sculptures of the months. In India, China, Siam, Japan, the gates

are protected by Dwarpal, and presence of the Kshetrapal (the

guardian of the local territory) was also necessary.

China has many legendary door guardians. The guardians are

brave warriors. The pictures of door gods are hung in pairs,

facing each other, it is considered bad luck to place the figures

back-to-back.

Door guardians used for Buddhist temples are different from

those at Taoist temples. At Buddhist temples, the most com-

monly seen door gods are Wei Tuo and Chia Lan, two guardians

of the blessed state of enlightenment.

JANUS ROMAN GOD OF DOORS:

In Roman mythology, Janus was the god of gates, doors, door-

ways, beginnings and endings. Janus also represented the sun

and the moon. Janus is always associated with some form of

duality. Janus is depicted with two faces -looking in opposite

directions. Janus symbolized change and transitions.

Cardea is the goddess of thresholds and door-pivots (cardo

=door-pivot). She protected little children against the attacks of

vampire-witches. Her powers were ‘to open what is shut and to

shut what is open’.

12 •

DIFFERENTIATION OF SPACECOMMUNICATING ACCESSIBILITY

oors that are accessible to everyone in public we

have classified as public doors, these includes

ones in educational facilities, banks, shops,

churches, and in train stations and metros. They

can further be divided into groups of doors that are accessible

to absolutely everyone and doors that are still public but with

limited entry aim towards specific type of users. These doors

have to communicate with users to clarify which type they are

and whether they can be accessed or not at any given moment.

Openness of space can be conveyed through the door by the use

of clear material since openness is synonymous with transpar-

ency. Clear and welcoming signage is usually visible. In a lot of

case, motion sensors are present to open when passersby are

detected to attract them in and let them know they are welcome.

On the other hand, in situation with limited access, doors require

a code for entry or through an ID card. It is communicated by an

always closed door, blinking red light, and sometimes signage

that is visible to users to let them know that they need to per-

form a procedure to gain access. It is more of a friendly reminder

rather than an authoritative message. Some spaces let you know

they’re occupied by simply whether a lock is green or red such

as in the public restrooms, or by a high closing door so you can

see the feet of the occupant but still preserving their privacy.

DPUBLIC DOORS

xclusive doors that belong to a certain user or a

group of user is considered to be personal doors.

These include doors to personal homes, gates

and personal vehicles. The doors have to commu-

nicate and indicate that they’re portals to private and personal

spaces. This is usually achieved by setting up barriers with mul-

tiple doors preceding each other, or constructed obstacles such

as a fence to bound a private space and let others know that

its a personal door. Other users that require entry have to ask

permission through knocking, knockers or a doorbell to notify

owner to let them in. Doors can be left open but still convey the

message that they’re the threshold of something personal and

not to cross the boundary until expressly invited in.

Personal doors can also reflect the owner’s personality and send

out information that the owner would like to personally express

through customization, color, material, shape and decorative

placements.

Users can divide their personal space with doors to differentiate

and separate spaces and functions and control flow within their

space. Doors are used to communicate with other who occupy

the same personal space as well as have a strong functional role

within the space.

EPERSONAL DOORS

• 13

There are numerous research papers and articles concluding on

the action of using a door is highly subconscious for most of us.

It is not only the action of opening and closing the door which

is done without thinking about it, and why.

A article by the cognitive scientist Art Markman have looked

into why people do hold open doors for others. Some times this

might be because the person holding the door want to make

an impression on the person walking behind, while other times,

Markman conclude that this is done as an subconscious act. His

research show that when there is someone behind you, within

a certain distance, you will tend to hold the door open for this

person behind you. Markman assumes that this is a subconscious

act by the first person, to minimize the effort spent between the

two persons.

Markman’s research also shows that the person walking behind

is also contributing to sharing the effort with the person hold-

ing the door, the person behind will automatically speed up to

minimize the effort spent by the person holding the door.

Research was also done with more than two persons involved.

These tests showed that if there were more than one person

walking behind, these were easier to spot for the person in front

and he would hold the door for a longer time than he would

for just a single person. Interestingly though, when there is a

group of people walking behind, they do not tend to speed up

as much to minimize the effort spent by the person holding the

door. When one person is holding the door for a group behind,

to door holder’s effort is outweighed by the effort of the group

walking behind.

A research paper published in “international Journal of Design”

have done research on how people interpret automatic door

movements as gestures. They have done user tests where they

let a door do different gestures (like opening when people are

passing by, or are nearby) to see how people will percieve these

gestures.

The research was done by fitting a door with such a system,

and test people walking towards or past the door. After pass-

ing through the test area, the persons was asked about firstly,

whether they noticed the gestures, and if the did, what they

interpret the door gestures.

In addition to doing the field tests, there was also done a video

prototype experiment. In this study the persons asked got more

time to think about their answers, and they gave more detailed

answers. The persons asked were shown videos of different

scenarios where a person was walking by, past and through the

gesturing door. The persons were then asked how they would

interpret and how they liked the gestures shown in the videos.

The results of the two studies shows that the core finding is that

people’s interpretations of door gestures are highly systematic

across several dimensions of door motion. Despite the novelty

of gesturing doors, untrained interactants “intuitively” read the

gestures in systematic ways. This suggests that people have a

common understanding of door interaction and interpret the

meaning of door gestures in similar ways.

INTERACTION AND USER HABITS

DISCOVERING EMERGING

PATTERNS AND BEHAVIOR

14 •

REACHING OUT

FOOT ON THRESHOLD

RELEASE HANDLE

REACHING OUT

PUSHING DOOR WITH 2ND HAND

PLACING FOOT OUTSIDE

RELEASE HANDLE

REACHING OUT

PUSHING DOOR SHOULDER

FOOT FOLLOWS DOOR

PULL DOOR BACK WITH HANDLE

REACHING OUT

EXTENDING LEG

LEANING BACK

HOLDING ON TO HANDLE

RELEASING HANDLE

REACHING OUT

LEANING BACK

PLACING FOOT

CLOSING WITH HAND ON ON DOOR PLATE

REACHING OUT WITH FOOT

STOP DOOR

PULL PUSH

RELEASE HANDLE

DOOR CONTINUE TO OPEN

In this scenario, where the door

open outwards, the users use some

form of pushing technique to open

the door. When looking closely at

the videos, we can see that there are

nobody using the same technique

for opening the door.

OUTWARD OPENING DOOR

In this scenario, where the door

open inwards, the users use some

form of pulling technique to open

the door. When looking closely at

the videos, we can see that there are

nobody using the same technique

for opening the door.

INWARD OPENING DOOR

In this scenario we looked at how

the test persons would change their

technique when approaching a door

that is about to close.

SAVING A CLOSED DOOR

• 15

Although the user tests are rather crude, we still find quite a lot

about how one opens a traditional hinged door. We can see that

there are many similarities between all the users’ techniques.

The main similarities in the techniques is how all the users

reach for the handle, with the same hand, a couple of steps

before the door.

Another similarity is the footwork when turning the handle and

opening the door. In the process of turning the handle, the users

put their weight on the front foot while lifting their back foot of

the ground. The similarity in the footwork can also be seen when

the users open the door. When they push open the door, most of

the users let their back foot follow the opening door leaf, and

place the foot in the room they enter. When pulling open the

door, the footwork differs, about half the users enter through an

open door with their front foot first whilst the other half goes

in with their back foot.

There were several different hand techniques used when open-

ing the door in the test. The obvious similarity is that all the

users used one hand on the handle when opening the door. The

differences were that some users used two hands when opening

the door, either by both pushing and pulling (on a static surface)

in the push open scenario. Another observation was that in the

push open scenario there were two test users that used their

upper body to push open the door.

There were a several varying techniques in regards to how the

users let go of the door after opening it. Some of the users used

some extra force opening it, so that they could let go while the

door did the rest of the opening itself. Other users held on the

the handle, and also used it to close the door behind them. The

third technique was closing the door behind with a hand on the

door leaf.

To conclude our findings, we can see that opening a door is an

act which is executed subconsciously. The users do not think

about nor plan how they should move their body to get through

a door, but it is a set of unique habits each user has which result

in their style of opening and walking through a door.

OBSERVATIONS; USER PATTERNS ANDBEHAVIORS

he information obtained about the topic of user

interaction and habits when using a door, has

been found through literature research, shad-

owing of users as well as user tests on specific

types of doors. Throughout the research of this topic, we have

obtained knowledge about the different techniques users use

when they approach and open doors, theories about why users

hold open doors for others, how people interpret automatic door

movements, and how doors are used to communicate.

User interaction and user habits can be as specific and tangible

as a person opening a door with the door handle, and it can

also be how a person perceives and understands different doors.

Firstly we will look at how different users, use different tech-

niques to open the same door.

T

USER TESTING ON HINGED DOORS

The data for this phase of the research was collected by 4 dif-

ferent students going through the same door, in the way that

feels natural for them. The door is a wide hinged door between

a classroom and a corridor. The “user tests” were filmed at 100

frames per second to give us more detail in the movement of

the users.In this part of the report, the

terms “front foot” and “back

foot” will be used to analyze

and explain the findings of

our user tests. The terms refer

to the position of the test

users feets when grabbing the

handle of the test door.

FINDINGS

As a part of researching the topics of user habits, users interac-

tion with doors as well as how doors are used as a communica-

tion tools, parts of the team went into Tallinn city to observe

how different doors were used. The observations were docu-

mented with video recording. The shadowing were done on bus

doors, a hinged shop door and a cafe with two hinged doors.

DOORS IN TOWN: SHADOWING

16 •

We did observe how people enter and exit the trolleybus both

from inside the bus and from outside. The observations from

inside the bus was done on trolleybus 3, and the observations

from outside the bus was done on the busy stop of Kaubamaja

where several of the trolleys stop.

Although bus doors are not the core of our project, the actions

used when using this kind of doors can be related to doors

relevant for our project. Because the bus doors are doors which

are highly trafficked in both directions at the same time, we can

find similarities with other doors like this. Examples of doors

with the same conditions can be doors in public buildings and

public places.

The main tendency we found was a problem of a large amount

entering and exiting at the same time. This led to clashes both

between people entering at the same time, and people exiting

with people entering the bus. In addition to this issue, we also

saw that several users not only used the door to enter and exit-

ing the bus, some also used it to hold on to. There were some

users holding on to the door while entering and exiting the bus,

and there were also some users holind on to the door while

riding the bus.

One of the location where we did observe users was the main

entrance of the shopping mall “Kristiine”. The door is an auto-

matically operated sliding door with glass panes. During the

time we were there, there were a lot of traffic both in and out of

the mall. The main observation we did was that during the time

we were filming, the doors only fully closed ones, and it stayed

closed for only 2 seconds.

The fact that the doors were open at all time, seemed to prevent

us from getting any good observations of users interaction with

the doors. The one observation we could see of user interaction

was when the doors were closed, or about to close. In these

cases we could see the users slowing down for a couple of

steps, until they could see the door reacting to their presence,

and open.

TROLLEYBUS

SHOPPING MALL

CLASH/CRASH

HOLDING ON TO DOOR

As a part of our research we went in to the Tallinn Old Town and

observed how doors for different shops and cafè’s were used. We

looked at how the shops used their doors to communicate with

the people walking past on the street.

The most obvious and standard way of communication we saw,

was the usual signs which tells you whether the shop is closed

or open, as well as giving you information about opening hours.

We saw several versions of these signs and writings, and even

some doors with several “open signs”.

Some doors we looked at did also communicate with bypass-

ing persons by being open or closed. Some shops had their

door wide open, communicating clearly that you as a customer

are welcome to enter. Of these open doors, some shops had an

extra door you had to open in order to enter. We did also see

SHOP DOORS

doors that were half way open, something we did also perceive

as a clear invitation to enter. With the closed doors, there was

other variables that decided whether we felt welcomed or not.

However, with a nice looking and welcoming shop window and

door, we felt as welcome as if the door would have communi-

cated this by being open.

• 17

LEVELS OF CONTROL

CLOSED

SECURE

TRANSLUCENT

ALLOW LIGHT

AND AIR

TRANSPARENT

OPEN

PRIVATE

UNSECURE

SECURE

UNPRIVATESAFE ACCESSIBLE

SEMI-OPENSEMI-OPEN

TEMPORARY WINDOW

MERGING BOUNDARIESSEMI-PRIVATE

INCREMENTAL CHANGES

18 •

MARKET RESEARCH

UNDERSTANDING THE USERS AND

MARKETING LANDSCAPE

he market for doors are largely dependent on

building construction market, both new and

repair. Being dependent on construction sector,

the sales can vary or increase sharply in an event

of a country, for example the olympic games (olympic village),

fifa world cup.

- Emphasis on environmental and energy ratings, safety and

climatic conditions creating new approaches to door manufac-

turing trends.

- Wood is undoubtedly the most common used material in door

industry, aluminium has a sizeable percentage in the market.

Being completely recyclable makes aluminium gain popularity

as a sustainable, economical option. Anodization is chosen in the

market for lifespan of the aluminium components.

- Asia Pacific (China, India and Indonesia) represented the larg-

est market in the door industry, followed by North America and

Europe.

- Despite apprehension regarding the fragile economy, window

and door industry executives anticipate increased sales in the

coming year. Industry trends and outside influences for the sec-

tor are;

- Fragile economic backdrop

- Changes in material prices

- Energy efficiency and improved product

- Labor issues (qualified)

- Unemployment

The annual survey for door and window industry ‘’2014 Industry

Pulse Survey’’ is shown with the charts below where respondents

are both window, door dealers and manufacturers. The questions

are to define impacts of industry trends and social factors.

TGENERAL MARKET APPROACH

• 19

Examples of handles and door hardware that can be used with-

out tight grasping, pinching, or twisting.

For different demands from the market, we have conducted a

research about existing and concept projects.

In the first step we checked for market, it was impossible not to

notice Austrian artist Klemens Torggler design ‘Evolution Door’

as an origami style work, which is told as door to the future.

The design of the door can not be separately thought as a differ-

ent element of the space. The surroundings of the door affects

the design of the product. It is way more important what kind

of connection / separation that door offers. For instance, kitchen

doors need to be considered as in a public, private use where

the design is quite different. The public kitchen doors are mostly

known as industrial solution, and have an obligation to control

certain level of connection between eating space. The private

usage on the other hand considered is the major touch point

inside the house. It is mostly desired as non-space occupant, not

to having it is a considerable option between users. Having the

interaction between most of the spaces as well as outside envi-

ronment makes it more openly. ‘’I keep it mostly opened - door is closed only in case i have burnt some food badly but it does not happen often.’’

Customization of doors gives the information for the users per-

sonality, habits, socio-cultural preferences, purpose of the space

behind. ‘’Doors alone can not be anything to represent what is

lied beyond.’’

The market needs to create a variable selection for users need,

desire, choices. It needs to be considered that even a hidden

door - room is expected from the market. As well as high secure

doors for banks, prisons and so on. There is user preference

selection from personal or manufacturers point of view.

User targeting is generally not depending on who is the user

rather than how user need to interact with the door. There are

user oriented design in the market but most common answer for

different user group is solved by arranging the dimensions of a

universal door or solution with the door handle.

TRENDS

Customizable doors selection we can serve some examples like

aDore door designed by Patrick Decker and Florian Langer which

is composed by layers of modular plates to use as multi-purpose

aim.

Design of door for Sapeli by Lucie Smyslova is also another cus-

tomizable option in concept phase for the future doors.

There is also a trend on different pivot solutions for opening

system, generally for more larger doors, door in door solutions,

two way opening doors.

For final example, it is described as our survey answers ‘’more

than a door’’, the transformer apartment by Vlad Mishin. Used

wall-door separations to create surfaces between spaces. Even

to hide the kitchen when it is not used, and do this in a very

desirable way.

20 •

MANUFACTURING, MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTION POSSBILITIES

n today’s door market, there are many options

for choosing the proper materials. Most popular

materials are wood, fiberglass and steel. Usually

the type of opening depends of the mate-

rial choice. The biggest difference between materials is not the

material but aesthetic. Wooden doors are usually made with a

thin piece of plywood or laminate on either side with a thicker

piece of hardboard behind it. The core is usually made of poly-

urethane and is designed to insulate. Real wood won’t be free of

maintenance and they will need to be refinished.

Second type of wood doors are solid wood doors which are

completely made out of wood and they shouldn’t be confused

with solid wood core doors. Solid wood doors are the heaviest

and most secure doors. They will resist most major shifting and

expanding but they will need to be kept up annually. The major

disadvantage to a solid wood door is of course the price and they

are the most expensive door one can buy. Great energy-efficient

alternative doors are the steel/wood hybrid doors where the

exterior of the door is made with steel. Wood is generally the

most expensive door of all.

When talking about steel, the most important thing to concern is

the gauge, where the higher the number, the thinner the steel is.

Example for inexpensive doors are 24-gauge steel doors which

are ultra thin and a good temporary solution. These doors bend

and flex easily and only good thing left is insulation behind it.

The flexing causes the removal of the paint which leaves the

steel unprotected and ready to rust.

22-gauge steel doors are made of thicker steel that doesn’t bend

or flex as easy as a 24-gauge and it holds paint extremely well.

IEXISTING STANDARDS The average price is a little more than the 24-gauge doors, but

the difference in quality is huge. Thicker gauges of steel are also

available, but these are primarily for the commercial or security

markets.

A relatively new material in doors today is fiberglass. Typical

for fiberglass is low maintenance, resists scratching and is very

strong and secure. Quality is good, as it was the situation with

wood doors. Cheap fiberglass may crack and fall apart. If looking

for cheap doors, the inexpensive steel ones should be considered

first. Fiberglass doesn’t need to be finished to be considered low

maintenance. Important thing to note in fiberglass doors is the

quality of their wood grain.

Fire doors refer to fire barriers and prevent from fire spreading

during the time, which is regulated by normative requirements

and safety conditions. Unlike usual doors, fire doors can prevent

from fire spreading for a longer period of time. Typical fire doors

are made out metal. Door leaf is covered with sheet metal. The

inner core is made out of polystyrene (used where thermal bar-

rier characteristics are required), or honey comb (it is standard

for hollow metal doors industry and it is durable, lightweight),

steel stiffened door (for additional strength).

Providing extremely hygienic and cleanable surfaces which

are highly durable, fiberglass, hygienic PVC or laminate surface

finishes are ideally suited for locations such as hospitals or

laboratories. Smooth and seamless construction means that

bacteria cannot build up on ledges. The door leaf is made of

fiberglass, reinforced polyester and is effectively insulated with

polyurethane. Door is not only hard-wearing but also hygienic

and easy to keep clean.

• 21

Liquid WoodA new form of industrial production, liquid wood, built from

organic materials like bamboo, flex, hemp, jute and rattan. It

looks, feels like wood and is made of wood, but it shifts shape

like plastic.

A type of resin is created from discarded wood-pulp of the

aforementioned plants, natural fibers and fish oils; the murky

mixture is compressed, heated and ultimately fused together in

a durable, strong and toxin-free alternative to petroleum-gen-

erated products. Under heat and pressure, the resulting viscous

substance can be used for injection-molding furniture pieces

with all the flexibility-but-rigidity of traditional plastics. The

products are recyclable and no toxic agents are fed into the mix.

OFFBEAT POSSIBILITIES

Color Changing MaterialPhotochromic materials in response to sunlight have the pos-

sibility to change colours. Usually they are colourless when the

surrounding is dark and when sunlight or ultraviolet radiation

is applied molecular structure of the material changes and it

exhibits colour. When the relevant light source is removed, the

colours disappear.

Example is Rainbow Winters Petal Dress, which is printed with

the photochromic ink. It is inspired by the colour transformations

of the rainforest, the dress changes, under UV light to purple on

the outside.

Flexible LED Light StripsLEDs have become really versatile and flexible and the ones less

than a millimeter thick are the ultimate in LED lighting innova-

tion. With LightForm, you can cut any length, shape and size.

Unlike rope lighting LEDs, you can cover a surface rather than

just creating a line of light – from interior and exterior walls to

furniture and mobile objects. Colours available are red, yellow,

orange, green, purple and white.

Magic GlassThis type of door has two outer layers made of conventional

glazing. Between the layers is a liquid crystal polymer mem-

brane that can be activated by remote control or turned on and

off through conventional light switches. The same surface can

serve as a window or privacy screen and projection surface. This

hybrid glazing comes in panels making them potentially appli-

cable in large-scale as well as smaller room-to-room doors and

dividers. This design is made by Russian door makers of Mauer

Buro.

22 •

FINDINGSDemands of users, whether it is a public place or private, creates

a type, design choice in the market. And market responses this as

division of production selection, for example security solutions

as fire escape doors, industrial doors, hygienic doors, mechanical

or engineering solutions. The main expectation from the future

is that doors needs to be environmental friendly, sustainable,

smart and customizable.

In the research on users interaction with doors and user habits

we found that because doors are such a natural part of our

everyday life, our interaction and use of doors are done highly

subconsciously. We open doors, hold doors open for others, inter-

pret doors and doors movements without thinking about it. Our

research also shows that we do these things in relatively similar

and systematic ways, although the user tests shows that we

have our own personal techniques when we use doors. From our

observations done in the Old Town of Tallinn we could also see

how doors can be, and are being used as communication tools

by shops, cafè’s and restaurants.

Whilst analysing the level of controls, it became apparently

clear that doors are designed in a way for the most part, their

properties are static, well except for the obvious fact that

they open and close to let the user through. Door seem to be

designed to be either secure or unsecure, private or non-private

but there doesn’t seem to be much doors that take incremental

change into consideration. They tend to be at a polar extreme

of their usability, either on or off. Users tend to prop up doors

a certain way to keep them half open even though doors aren’t

really designed to be put that way. In terms of communication,

on and off approach to usability is fine to convey sharp concise

messages but with a variable degree of micro adjustments and

stages, the door would be able to communicate so much more

with more accuracy and fidelity to the users original intended

message.

Research of existing door materials showed that the most

commonly materials in door production are wood, steel and

fiberglass. These options are of course not the only ones. Doors

can be made of aluminium, glass, vinyl or uPVC (unplasticized

polyvinyl chloride) and a lot of other materials which are still in

research. It is difficult to say what material is the best for doors

because it depends on the price one would like to spend. If the

future materials are going to be researched more, the prices

will become lower and doors will become completely redefined.

With the various new manufacturing processes and technologies

currently available such as smart materials that change color or

opacity and the ease of integration of circuits and electronics,

doors can be more than just a panel on a pivot but in fact so

much more.

ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION

• 23

FURTHERDEVELOPMENT

VISION FOR THE FUTURE

Access: A direction to

develop a new method to use and

open a door, keeping in mind the

ease of use for the handicapped,

and people with their hands full.

ACCESS LEVELS INFORMATIVE

Levels: Developing a door

that isn’t designed only to be open

and closed but have multiple levels

of openness and control, to give

user full command over privacy,

security, and space.

Informative: A door that

can send specific messages or cer-

tain information depending on the

situation; example: clinic door, that

tells you when your turn is up or

a fire door that changes color for

weather its safe to access or not.

24 •

• 25

MODULARPANELDOORINFINITE POTENTIAL.MOD

SEMA AKSUMART KEKIŠEV

DMITRIY MALETSKIYDYRE VAA

MOHAMMAD ALMUTAWAKRISTJAN JAGOMANN

MARTINA GRGIĆ

26 •

• 27

Nowadays, we live in a nonstop change world. In that world, peo-

ple change in accordance with the environment and this situa-

tion also influences their preferences. Most people update their

preferences in a harmony with the modern world. We can see

that modernist changes in our daily lives. The space that we live

in is getting more compact and smaller day by day. Communities

are shaped as ‘living and working single life’ profile.

It is easy to see how some objects which were seen just as a

material in the old times has become a part of the modern life

with some simple changes. Doors are one of those objects which

have been influenced by the new fashions. The changes mostly

depends on size, material, colour, texture decided by designers,

producers in the market. Combination of the described elements

is mostly custom design and costs more than a regular product.

Only with those combinations doors have gain some identity

rather than to be just single element. They have started to mirror

the owner’s preferences, needs and interests.

PANELS+DOORWe decided to create something that can be customizable

and sustainable throghout time as the needs and environ-

ment changes, door evolves with it. Asked ourselves what if

door imade with panels in a frame that can bee choosed and

designed from different combinations of material, functions,

merged together to create something unique. Therefore dig in

more deep through our research and gather inspiration from

structures of natural and crafted forms and patterns, history and

cultural backgrounds; not just as doors but in various design

platforms

The general approach is created from the door itself, but it’s

structural unit, honeycomb sandwich panels. Enlarging the sup-

porters .

VARIATIONS, PROCESSThroughout this research we would like to achive is to be

able to create different shapes, materials, functions as frames,

panels and shelves to create alternative solutions for the

space inneed. Not just panel - frame solutions but as hang-

ers that ou can attach in slice machanism n the door. Or as

block which can be attached n rubber protected hole points

INSPIRATION

CONCEPTPERMEABILITY & TRANSFORMATION

ADAPTABILITY

There is never enough space.

Limited choice.

Time-Restrained

28 •

In our project, we ensure customers to create their own ideal

door in the way which they want to use it. But here, we faced a

problem which is even though customers create their own doors

with their own prospects; there is always a high possibility for

the customer to get bored from that door after a while. This

possibility led us to think about something which would be both

customizable and sustainable. With that, we aimed to change

the way which the door used in accordance with the time and

environmental changes. So, the door should be evolving itself.

With the light of that aim, we decided to create the door with

some panels and shelves in a frame that can be chosen from

different combinations of materials or different functions. With

the help of those which would be merged to the door, we would

serve customers an opportunity to differentiate their doors as

they wish. So, these panels would be useful to change and create

a new appearance and need for doors. With that shelf solution,

the customer would have different usage of their doors. And it

would create a different prospect and different appearance for

the door. These shelves can also be used for different aims. For

example, in the kitchen door, these shelves create some spaces

for recipe books or for some decorative images like flowers or a

place to put herbs and spices. Another example for the shelves

can be seen in the bathroom doors. In the bathroom door,

shelves would be used to put towels, or extra toilet papers which

would make the bathrooms a more organized places. So, as we

can see, panels and shelves which would be added to the doors

would be effective in some different means.

We can say that, with the effects of the modernism which have

occurred in these last years, the images of the doors have also

changed in people’s mind. Now, they are more than just a mate-

rial. They can be reflected by the characteristic of the owner;

they can be reflected by the changing expectations from the

life. Since the human being is not something which has a stabil-

ity, whenever people changes, the doors will be changed also

in accordance with the new preferences of the people. So, with

our door project, we would like to give customers the chance to

create their own doors with their own wishes. With the panel-

door combination and with the shelf system which we used to

increase the effectively on doors, customers will have the ability

to have just one door with some different usage styles. They will

see the advantage of having a modern door with the environ-

mental changes which time brings and day by day they will enjoy

decorating their doors as they wish to have it.

IDEA

DESIGNDEVELOPMENT

Depending on our idea we have produced several real scale

dimensional shelf, panel to test the requirements of the project.

Several functions added to prototypes and documented. User

groups are investigated to create a pattern in user behaviour.

Spaces which desribes the functions are examined such as

kitchen, bathroom, apartment entrance also user behaviours in

these spesific places.

Technical details are also considered development process, it

will explained more in detail in technical information part.

To make sure that door elements can work we have conducted

many tests on partial scale of the object to see the need of

dimension and capabilities of the frame. The idea is not about

the shape of creating holes in honeycomb shape to be used as

shelves but to create a frame to be shaped as whatever material,

purpose or form to create a custom door.

• 29

SHELVES

PANELS

FRAME

30 •

ADAPTABLE

• 31

POSSIBILITIESINFINITE

32 •

Frame of the concept is the structure for the whole product.

Therefore the structural materials as wood, metal profiles needs

to be installed in this element. The edges of the frame need

to be sweeped by the structural material and strengened from

the corners. Surface and the constructional materials should be

attached each other both glue and screwing systems. The mate-

rial on the both surface needs to be a sustainable,light, long

lasting material such as MDF, Masonite board, veneer or OSB.

This material needs to be covered with paint or the finishing

must be very good.

Panels of the door is the key element to shape the door accord-

ing to the preferences. It is the same tickness with the frame

itself to provide a solid appereance. Both panels and shelves

are stabilized wiht magnets in the frames of the door structure.

Material and the purpose of the panel is desribed from the con-

sumer himself.

The shelves needs to be more solid then the panels because of

the force ia been applied to it. It can be flexible one piece mate-

rial or two piece of material. It is not recommended to create

mulitple layer-cornered element. The material of the elemenet

can vary for the company strategy, or theconsumers personal

choice.

There is a certain issue to keep the objects in the shelves, a

rope system that can be formed in different crossing. The detail

should be examined and try to be improved in future design pf

the concept.

Door hanlde of the project is also vital to not to block the

operation system of concept. So it is suggested to achive a thin

horizontal handle like we did in prototyping and use panels not

frames around it’s oppening circle, or have diagonal handles

mostly used in hospital or massive use areas such as conferance

halls, sport arenas.

One other option is to have triangle shape car handle type of

solution

FRAME

SHELVES

PANELS

DOOR HANDLE

TECHNICALSOLUTIONS

• 33

PROTOTYPEDepanding on our concept it is crutial to pick up the right mate-rials and tools to use for own prototyping methods. We selected

3.2 mm masonite hardboard panel as surface layers, conducted

a CNC cut with dwg drawings to acquire the right angle and

dimensions. Since there has been 22 holes each in both layers,

fit perfectly with each other inneed, it is the best option. There

has been different difficulties to keep cutted pieces on board,

machine sweeps it and cuts it on its way to the other hole

cut. This part could be improved by the technician or by using

another method to make the cuts.

The structure between 2 panels is strengthenered with wood

profiles sweep edges and supported from corners. PVA glue is

used in joining to elements; structural frame and the surface.

The thickness between holes is covered from cardboards, also

shaped as honeycombs diagonally which is strongly supportive.

Also the other surface panel of the door is carefully attached

with spray glue, PVA.

Panels and shelves are produced from the masonite board

cut out part from CNC, supported by cardboards on edges. For

shelves, used one plate, for plated it is used double sided plates

to gain a more solid surface. The panels and shelves are sup-

posed to attached the frame with magnet solution but with the

lack of time management and communication skills the ordered

materials is not achived. These kind of point also helps us to

comprehend the situation that we are dealing with.

The door frame is painted with RAL 9005; mat black, panels and

frames are differentiated with several materials that we could

achive. The variations is not just as colour or texture but also for

different functions.

The structural coloumns are made from wood profiles, screwed

and attached to the exibition frame. Then the hinges height

is calculated according to door frame weight capability and

attached both in door and structure. Door handle is attached

on it’s place and the panels and shelves are replaced randomly.

CONSTRUCTION

34 •

First experience and the most valuable one for our concept is to

give the joy to user to scrambble the elements to be used in the

project. The pattern created by the user is appereantly different

from each other. For myself instance my height is a key element

for me not to choose shelves in upper frame, the other has a

passion to use transparent one in the frame, meanwhile another

keeps empty in several frame parts then ultimately creates an

idea on mind to use it with foot when they had to use the door

fully hand with stuff.

When the frame is completed with elements, the user have

an urge to look from a distance and decide whether this pat-

tern is enjoable for them and serve their functions. Even in the

settlement part of the elements choice vary from one person to

another ‘‘not this way, not this one’’. So any inconviences, divorces

and break-ups caused by our design is not meant to and we do

not accept the responsibility.

We clearly see that the magnet solution is neccessary to cre-

ate stable door. With the force that applied to door creates the

detachment of the elements from the frame.

EXPERIENCE

USER TESTING

• 35

SCALEA real scale, partial prototyping describes what kind of potential

use can be in the concept. As dimensional constrains got into

a level that is not promising, whole structure settled again to

gain more advantageous dimension. So it is shaped in current

situation.

Concept can be used in several places therfore several dimen-

sions, the parts dimensions should be fixed to serve the

exchange - ability. The further developments can decide two or

three options as sclae to be used in the concept.

DETAILINGKeeping the objects in the shelves and panels in the frame needed to be considered as user experience researching. The offered magnet solution needs to be examined to provide more accurate detail. The materials or functions which is preffered most fromcan be settled as populer items in the marketting department.The holding or gripping mechanism of the panels needed to be considered in further developments. Shelves control is easier from the edges of the element, but panels are at the same surface with door frame which makes it more hard to grab from the surface.

IMPROVEMENTS

FUTURE DEV

SUSTAINABLE, CREATIVE, SOCIAL, INTERACTIVEAdaptibility of the concept will create a community about

exchanging the material, ideas, solutions for the panels and

shelves. It can either be through the company sales department

or online sales services. Both ways are creating a branding strat-

egy for the company.

It has a potential for material, technology, technical develop-

ments. The potential is infinite throughout time.

Competitions can be made for ideas and solutions to keep

project up to date, also provide as a situmulator in consumers

purchasing behaviour.

POTENTIAL

36 •

• 37

MULTI-FUNCTIONDOORINFINITE POTENTIAL.DIVE

DYRE VAADMITRIY MALETSKIY

MART KEKIŠEVSEMA AKSU


MARTINA GRGIĆ

38 •

In the early stages of this project we explored alternative ways

of using doors. Our process began with exploring different ways

of opening, walking through and using doors. Further on we

looked at what functions we can add to a door, to make it useful

both when it is open and closed.

We started our concept generation looking at our findings in the

research. Our focus was on the finding that people are unaware

of doors, and mainly use them subconsciously. We started to

work out simple concepts, trying to find a way to make doors

more than what it is today, and by that make users aware of

doors. Our findings showed that people walk through, use and

interpret doors without thinking about it. The reason for this

must be that most doors are the same and therefor the motion

of walking through a door is more of a habit than a thought out

action.

Based on this, we started to generate cardboard mock-ups of dif-

ferent possible ways of opening doors, with the aim of making

doors into something the users would be aware of, and appreci-

ate. We focused on different opening methods based on user

testing done in our research phase were we filmed ourselves

walking through doors, and analysed the footage to get a bet-

ter understanding of how we actually interact with doors. We

tried out concepts where the foot was used to open the door,

opposed to the traditional hand opening of doors amongst other

methods.

New ways of how a door moves and opens was also explored

in the early stages. With the different opening motions we tried

displacing the pivot point of the doors on its normal axis, as

well as moving the pivot point of the door onto other axis’. We

did also try replacing the door panel with multiple panels with

different pivot points.

These early concepts explored many interesting and new ways

of thinking about and defining doors. This concept generation

was done to try distancing from the traditional door to enable

us to see new possibilities for what a door can be. We did this

by doing a simplified definition of the function of a door, and

then trying to give those functions with a different looking

and functioning element. We defined doors as an architectural

element that lets you control your environment. Doors control

your privacy by visual, sound and smell privacy as well as they

control the climate like temperature, wind, sunlight and rain in

your environment. We wanted to generate doors different form

the traditional door, which could still provide the same control

and function of the traditional door.

The most interesting concepts we generated in this early phase

was when we started to open doors in three dimensions. The

possibilities with a 3rd dimensions was definitely greater than

PROCESS

CONCEPT

OUTCOMES

OPENING&MULTIFUNCTION

• 39

with the two dimensions of a traditional door. We saw the poten-

tial of opening doors in three dimensions as a very interesting

user experience. As well as finding this as a much more interest-

ing way of opening doors, we saw with one of our first 3D doors,

that there were possibilities of transforming the door into new

objects when we added the 3rd dimention.

With the idea of a door that transforms into other objects, we

were also touching another finding from our research; doors do

only function when they are closed. That mean that doors are

only designed to be closed, and do not have any intended func-

tion in its open state. However, in our research we found that

doors do have a psychological function when they are open, peo-

ple are using doors as a communication tool by having it open to

certain extends. By transforming the door into something useful

in the open state, we could make doors useful when they are

open, beyond the function of being a communication tool.

40 •

From the concepts we generated in the early stages of the proj-

ect, we found the transforming 3D door as the most interesting

concept to develop further. This concept would give a whole new

experience for the users, and the users would not only be those

walking through the door, as there will be an added dimension

of use to the door as a seating. The existing concept we had gen-

erated consisted of a double door, opening in the usual manner,

before the doorplates folds down to form a horizontal plane as

either a bench or a table.

DEVELOPMENT

To ensure that we did not miss anything, we continued the

development by looking at other objects the door could

«become» when it is open. We did also look at objects or pieces

of furniture, and tried to find what kind of objects could serve

the functions of a closed door, but we kept coming back to the

bench/table as the most plausible solution.

The next step led us into thinking about in what kind of context

and location this kind of transforming door could be used. We

started out with the aim of fitting this transforming door into

private houses, one of the issues we found with this transform-

ing door is that the process of opening and closing the door is

made more complex than traditional when we add the extra

dimension. The conflict is that doors are regularly closed and

opened, something that could interfere with the use of the

object it transforms into. We decided that the most appropriate

location for this door will have to be where doors are usually

held open over a longer period of time. Locations and appro-

priate places of use that came to our mind first were bars and

cafes. These kinds of places usually open there doors when they

open in the morning, and keep them open until they close in the

evening. They usually use their open doors as a way of communi-

cating with potential customers, and make people feel welcome.

Furthermore, they do often tend to have outdoor serving, or at

least a bench for smoking outside their entrance.

DOUBLE DOOR

• 41

We had decided where this door could be used, and we had

decided what function we wanted it to serve. The develop-

ment went further with exploring ways of opening and ways of

“transforming” the door. We tried out different approaches; most

of them had similar mechanical solution to the early concepts,

where the whole door panel folds down to form the horizontal

plane. We saw some issues with these concepts, as they could

be very advanced mechanically. We did also see that the size of

a door panel, almost despite dimensions, would be very big for

a bench.

To look for new possibilities, we looked at standard measure-

ments for single doors, as well as standard measurements for

benches such as the traditional picnic table. With these numbers

we saw that the designs we had been working on up to this

point had been very oversized to be benches. We found that even

the smallest standard dimensions of a single door would be a

fitting size for both a table and a bench in the width of a door

panel. On the basis of this we started exploring some new ways

of transforming the door, where one door panel formed both a

bench and a table in the doors open state.

We generated several ideas for how the door should transform

from being an open door into the pieces of furniture when the

door was open, but we felt that most of these were too advanced

for what we were looking for. We wanted the transformation to

be done with little effort and in a single motion.

The main issue we had with most of our concepts was the

mechanically challenging solution of the door detaching from

its upper hinge as it formed the bench. Also, with the door

detaching from the upper hinge, all the stress from the weight of

the bench would be taken up by the bottom hinge. To solve this

we tried out some different supporting legs for the benches, but

we still felt that the detaching top hinge complicated a simple

design too much. The method we found for simplifying the

opening motion was to leave the door hanging on the hinges

in the open state. With the door hanging like a traditional door,

we created panels in the door panel that could fold out, to form

the furniture.

IDEASINSPIRATION

42 •

Our final design is a multifunctional door called Dive. Dive functions like all other doors when it is closed, keeping people, noise and the weather out. When Dive is open however, in addition to make people feel welcome and invite them into your space, Dive can give a whole new experience of seating in your café, bar, restaurant or in your own backyard.

DESIGN Based on the concept of Dive, there are numerous possi-bilities of use. Dive can be tailored to fit any door dimen-sion. The possibilities are also more than the transforma-tion to a bench and a table; based on the same concept, there can be made racks for displaying of goods in shops or for serving food and drinks when you are arranging your garden party, or for whatever you could imagine using Dive for.

Dive takes a open door that has no intended function, and gives you a new piece of furniture with a set of new posibilites.

• 43

PERSONAL

FUNCTIONALITY

SOCIALIZING

VERSATILITY

44 •

PROTOTYPE

The materials and mechanical solutions for NAME have not been specified during the design process, therefor the prototype have been built to show the functions and usability of the product rather than showing the aesthet-ics of the final product. The prototype was built out of a wooden framework cladded with wooden oriented strand-boards (OSB). There were wmade two holes in the main frame to leave space for the bench and table it would hold. For the underside of the bench and table, there is cut out slits in the frame and plate to allow the legs to stay inside the door when it is closed. This makes the legs flush with the door surface when they are not folded down, and the only thing sticking out of the construction is the handles you need to open the door and fold out the bench and table. The door, bench and table are built on separate wooden frames and are connected with hinges. The wooden frame in the bench and table provides strength, and enables them to hold the weight of users without bending too much to make the seating uncomfortable. The OSB pro-vide stiffness to the structure and makes the door more rigid. The bench is fitted with two sets of legs, as this is the panel that will have to carry the most weight, the table has one set of leg, which should be sufficient for the expected loads on the table. After combining the parts into the final product, the door was sanded and coated with lacquer. The prototype does not represent the surface looks of what the finished prod-uct will have, but it is giving the opportunity for users to test the door by opening and closing it, as well as using the bench and table.

PROCESS

• 45

When the prototype was finished and surface treated, we fitted

the door into the metal fram provided by JeldWen. With the door

in place we started testing by opening and closing the door,

opening and closing the bench and table panels, as well as test-

ing its strength by testing out the seating.

TESTING

We were very happy with how well our prototype worked, and

how well it matched with our intetion. However, the testing did

also confirm our guesses about possible problem areas of the

door. From when we started planning the prototype production,

we were worried about two specific areas of the door when it is

in use. The first issue we identified was the unfolding of the legs

of the benche. One set of legs on the bench does have a handle

and will therefor be fully unfolded by the opening motion. The

set of legs without a handle however, do not fold naturally out

into a secure position. The other two sets of legs do fold out

fully, but they do not have any solution for how to hold them in

a secure position.

Our second issue was keeping a secure position for the door

plate itself. When the door was open, and the panels unfolded,

the door could still move on the pivot point of its hinges which

could make the seating unsafe, as this motion could move the

legs out of its safe position. There was also an issue with sitting

close to the hinge of the bench, if the surface under the bench

is not leveled, there would be put stress on the hinges of the

bench, which is not preferable.

TESTING RESULTS

SITTING

OPENING

46 •

To go further with the development of Dive, the focus would have to be aimed more towards the technical aspects of the door than what it have been in this design process. At this stage there have not been done any decision about materials for the construction, locking mechanisms or the specific mechanical solution for the transformation from door to furniture.

The materials would most likely be somewhat similar to existing doors, as this door also needs to have the same technical properties as a normal door. In addition to have the properties of a traditional door, Dive would also need to have enough strength to serve the purpose of the fur-niture it transforms into.

An important issue that will have to be solved with NAME is the locking mechanisms. Because the panels folds out of the door, Dive does actually have two doors inside the door that also needs to be locked for the door to be as safe as a conventional door. To make sure that Dive is not any more complicated to use than a normal door, the lock-ing of the panels should be linked to the main lock to do the unlocking of the door and the panels in one action. A tailored locking system would be needed for Dive to make the use of the door as simple and intuitive as possible.

The mechanical solution for the transformation from door to furniture will also have to be worked out to make sure Dive is as easy in use as intended. The opening of the bench or the table should be possible by a single motion. With the opening of the bench and table comes also the folding out of the supporting legs, in the state they are in the prototype they do not fold out as intended, and they are not secured in a safe position while in use. The opening mechanism of the panels and the supporting legs should be done so that opening is easy and safe and the use of the seating should be safe for the users.

We see the possibility of working out good solutions for all these areas of development as fully manageable.

FUTURE DEV

• 47

48 •

• 49

DYNAMICCURTAINWALLINFINITE POTENTIAL.VEIL


MARTINA GRGIĆ MART KEKIŠEV

DYRE VAASEMA AKSU

DMITRIY MALETSKIY

50 •

When it came to developing a door, we believed we needed to

redefine what a door was and start from scratch. Taking a door

to it’s basic elements we realized a door was merely a piece of

wall that lets you through it, so that generated the idea of cre-

ating permeable wall that has the ability to let people through

selectively or not let people through in other case.

For inspiration, we wanted to invoke a sense of wonder and

discovery. We looked at how people behaved when encountering

soft permeable objects such as curtains or even tree branches

and leaves and how they were pushed out of the way to get

through and thought it would be interesting to recreate a door

that would have similar elements.

We were fascinated with the idea of transforming a solid wall to

have properties it would not normally have and that is permea-

bility. A wall that could be solid in a certain state and physically

transparent in another, an object that can exist and disappear or

move out of the way when needed yet provide clear boundaries.

PARTIn our first design iteration, tried to envision how users would

act when asked to go through a wall and that resulted in a con-

cept called part, in which one would literally part the wall with

their hands, we tried to envision a system in which users could

grab on to wall panels and push them aside to go through a wall.

This concept deals with the issue of a door not having multiple

levels, with being able to be placed at multiple positions to

convey a different levels of openness. It played on an existing

system for doors, which is sliding doors but became more a slid-

ing wall in effect.

The only issue with the design we felt that it only worked on a

single plane, it was very 2-Dimensional and we then opted to

develop something that would work better in 3-Dimensions and

have more depth.

PROCESS

CONCEPT

PERMEABILITY & TRANSFORMATION

• 51

LIQUIFYIn the second iteration, we tried to give depth to a moving wall,

we started looking at exisitng pseudo-walls, (ie. curtains) and

wanted to recreate the same movement and flow but with a

solid material like bricks or some sort of panel. We developed a

system of pivots that would in essence liquify a wall and give it

the dynamics of a curtain.

This system gave us the depth we required whilst still tackling

the issue of levels we dealt with previously. The concept works

on the principle of having a wall thats like a curtain that is

pushed aside when needing to go through or close when not

in use.

The issues we faced with this concept is that it would have to

be operated manually and for it’s sized it was very impractial

and heavy.

DEFORMA variation of the previous iteration, we tried to try changing the

connections so they weren’t uniform, and try and get different

forms. We were seeking to make it more dynamic in terms of

movement and possibly more easier to use.

With this system, we created more dynamic and deconstructed

forms when opening. It ranges from a clear cut blocky form

when closed and slowly deforms at differen access, angles and

points to create a an opening at a preset point.

The same issue is also transfered from the previous concept, that

for a large structure it would be very difficult and impractical to

operate manually because of the size it has to be and it’s weight.

52 •

We settled on the idea of raising the wall much like a curtain

would rise, that way it would not be in the way when raised so it

would not take up space in the location its placed.

With a system like this, it tackles several issues including but

not limited to level openness which emphasize mutiple levels

of correctness for the ‘door’ to be in without limiting it to the

duality of ‘on and off’ that doors currently have. Also deals with

the issue of access, creating an experience unlike any other for

users to access space in a unique way. It will also deal with flow

control in a space.

We visualized a solid wall lifting when a user tried to access

either by detecting them or by user input and the wall raising to

the correct height for them to walk through. Also, a system that

would allow the wall not to be there at all, and allow spaces to

merge to become a uniform space with the wall completely out

of the way, or a system that would react to environmental inputs

such as sound, light or movement to create a dynamic space.

INCEPTION

DESIGN

We developed this concept into a working system we named Veil.

We played on the idea of a standard american home garage door

that folds up and developed it into small panels as if it were the

resolution of a curtain. The panels at hinged and afixed on the

ceiling and then they are split up into multiple panels that are

then pulled up from the bottom creating an arc to the observer,

however in section, it works much like the principle of a car jack.

One issue we faced is that while the wall rises, it would create a

hazzard as the middle part protruded outwards, but we fixed the

issue by raising the height of the wall to atleast 3 meters, in this

case the join is at 1.5 meters from the ground and it would go up

and above the users head and would no longer be a major issue.

Another issue is that it could be awkward for users to open

manually as it is an unfamilar system, but would be easy to

mechanise at first and demonstrate how it opens and when it

becomes more common it would be easier to comprehend in

the long run.

DEVELOPMENT

• 53

54 •

Veil works great in a variety of locations and situations where

there could be a large constant flow of people, in big open

spaces and works great indoors or outdoors. It’s suited to gal-

leries, conference halls and exhibition areas where the need to

open up spaces or cordon them is a common neccessity as well

as directing the traffic of people and channeling the movement

in one form or another.

Other locations where veil could be used is in outdoor spaces

to divide locations or inhibit the use of motor vehicles by only

creating a human-sized opening and enlarging to let through

specifically designated vehicles. In regards to vehicles, veil could

be an interesting garage solution by blending with existing

walls then open up to let cars or people through.

The idea of blending with surroundings would work great for

situations where you need to hide entrances from the casual

observer and only designate certain users.

LOCATION AND VALUES

CONTEXT

SPATIAL THRESHOLD

Examples of where an entrance can be hidden is in theater

backdrop where you hide the backstage yet open to allow sets

to be changed or actors and performers to come out, or in more

industrial settings where you can hide work shops and loading

bays behind it and yet open up to fascilitate an easy movement

of heavy and large equiptment.

There are situations were Veil isnt required to open but instead

could react to users through movement, lights and colors, the

structure could be hooked to detect sound, light, and motion

and respond accordingly. The add-ons are only limited by the

imagination.

The design is scalable and modular so size is not an issue and

panel dimension can be altered to user desired specifications

and the opening could be modified to open in any sequence or

variety of sequences specified.

• 55

MODULARITYAND SCALABILITY

PERCEPTIONAND EXPERIENCE

56 •

MECHANICS

To determine the mechanics of Veil we had to create a morpho-

logical matrix with all the possible solutions and evaluate them

on the criterias we needed. Criterias include speed, noise, safety

and cost.

There were two systems that outshined the rest and stood out,

the counter-weight system which works on the principle of

balance, by having a counter-weight the same weight as the

structure, making the the user’s slightest touch able to activate

the mechanical system, thus requiring physical interaction. This

system however would only work on smaller scales (3 meter

height) where the weight can be integrated into the wall and

also restrict the number of ways the panels could pop open.

The second system that stood out was the motorized-hinge

system, having a system which use a motor on each panel to

push open the panels would mean it’s has to be automated and

hooked up to a sensor or a form of an activation trigger. It also

means that the motors will have to be integrated into a network

which can then be programmed to open in an way required,

that results in a variety and levels of openning and is perfect

for all scales. The only draw back is that such a system is very

expensive since each panel needs it’s own dedicated motor, and

with such a highly complex system, there are more likelihood of

a system failure.

SYSTEMS

Pneumatic System Counter-weight system Geared spool system Winch system Motorized hinge Hydraulic system Electronic Muscle Spring and winch Electromagnetic opening

Compressed air Balance Gear Ratios Rolling spool Extending arms Pressurized liquid Electroactive material Potential Energy and rope tension Electromagnetism

Air compressor None Rotary motor Rotary motor Stepper motor Fluid Pump None Rotary Motor NoneHolistic Holistic Holistic Segmented Segmented Segmented Segmented Segmented Segmented

Medium Low Medium High High High Medium High Medium

Electric Man-powered Electric Electric Electric Electric Electric Electric Electric

Preset Physical interaction Preset Computerized Computerized Preset Preset Computerized Preset

Mechanical Mechanical Mechanical Virtual Virtual Virtual Virtual Virtual Virtual

3 2 2 3 3 3 2 2 2

One-way valve Centrifugal brake Locking gear Locking gear Locking gear One-way value None None None

Regular Regular Slow Slow Fast Slow Fast Regular Fast

Loud Quiet Average Loud Loud Average Quiet Average Quiet

Average Light Light Heavy Heavy Heavy Light Average Average

2 Speed 2 2 1 1 3 1 3 2 3

1 Noise 1 3 2 1 1 2 3 2 3

2 Weight 2 2 1 3 3 3 1 2 2

3 Safety 3 2 3 3 3 3 1 3 1

2 Maintenance 2 3 2 1 1 2 1 1 3

1 Cost 2 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1

72.73% 78.79% 63.64% 63.64% 75.76% 72.73% 51.52% 66.67% 69.70%

Speed

Solutions/Parameters

Diagram

Working Principle

Motor type

System integration

Complexity

Power

Activation

System Network

Levels of openness

Safety mechanism

Evaluation

Noise

Weight

Impo

rtan

ce (

1-3)

Score

COUNTER-WEIGHTSYSTEM

MOTORIZED-HINGESYSTEM

MORPHOLOGICAL MATRIX

• 57

MATERIALS

While choosing the proper materials for Veil, the most important

things which needed to focus on were how to make every part of

the system as easy to install and light as possible. Manufacturing

has a huge role in this case and needs to be chosen with care.

Composite materials, materials made from two or more con-

stituent materials, are probably one of the best choices for the

panels. Composites are lightweight and because of the fact that

the system consists of a lot of panel components, being light-

weight is important. Composites have high strength and can be

engineered and designed to be strong in a specific direction and

they can be strong without the extra weight Composites retain

their shape and size when they are hot or cool, wet or dry. Wood,

on the other hand, swells and shrinks as the humidity changes.

Structures made of composites have a long life and need little

maintenance. These are the reasons why composites were cho-

sen for the panels.

Connections between the panels are supposed to be easy to

install, flexible and not too complex. Instead of usual connec-

tions, like hinges, we opted to use elastic materials that could

be applied between the panels. These kind of materials make

the movement of the entire door more smooth while keeping

the complexity and weight of the system law and also create a

more uniform aesthetic to system.

CURRENT CAPACITY

Developing our material portfolio for future possibilities we

thought it is important to integrate texture and color to instill

different moods and evoke different emotions, we consider pho-

tochromatic and thermochromatic material as possible options

for situations when dynamic color change is required.

We’re also looking into materials that change transparency such

as electrochromic glass, in which there is a whole other layer of

permeability to the structure.

Metamaterials have very interesting applications since they are

engineered to create properties that arent found in natural and

could integrate with the panels to create a unique and bewilder-

ing experiences for users.

POSSIBILITIES

58 •

The prototype was built to third scale (1:3) because it was easier

and more feasible to build and transport and set up. we started

off with building a a steel frame from rectangular steel tube on

which we would build our system around. It had to be strong and

stable to be able to support the moving panels.

Next we got several sheets of polycarbonate coreflute plastic

sheets and bandsawed them to the correct dimensions to create

the panels. We then attached the sawed pieces together with a

fabric adhesive strip as an analog for an elastomer composite

that would normally go there, then veneered the back of the

panels with fabric adhesive to get a uniform look.

We then attached pulleys to the frame and a central slider bar

which would rise up to lift the panels together, we then attached

the panels around the frame, and hooked up the lengths of rope

from the bottom of the panels to the slider to the correct height.

We added weights to the bottom of the panels to to create a

smoother lifting and lower action as well as smoothing out the

edges between to panels for less interaction between individual

panels.

CONSTRUCTION

PROTOTYPE

After attaching the panels and raising the central slider bar we

realized the edges of the panels were too rough because they

caused too much friction between the panels and made raising

the structure difficult, we proceeded to sand the edges to get the

clearance and make a smoother movement, it improved but we

opted to line the edges with clear adhesive for the best results.

Second issue we faced was whilst lifting and lowering the

structure, the panels were too light and would act very flimsy by

moving and bobbing around, so we added weights to the bottom

of the panel to create more rigidity.

Afterwards we faced an issue with the central slider bending and

deforming due to the newly added weight, we rectified that with

attaching an L-section length of steel to the side which gave it

the neccessary rigidity.

Lastly, the lengths of rope attaching the panels to the slider

slack too much and sometimes get caught on the hardware

which stop the mechanism from functioning, so in hindsight we

regret not using a retractable element like a spring or a coiled

rope.

TESTING

WE MADE IT.

• 59

From the testing of our prototype we noticed a few issues we

needed to address, first of all the slack in the ropes which proved

to be problematic when lowering the structure to the closed

position as it seeped out through between the panels, we sug-

gest that we replace the rope with a retractable element such

as a spring or a rope on a retractable coil.

Second issue was the friction generated between the panels

from the cutting, the surfaces have to be really smooth to allow

for smooth gliding and reduce friction but also the panels have

to be alligned with utmost precision.

As the structure is lifted, there were issues of balance from the

lower segments since they teetered on different sides, we sug-

gest having a weight at one side to encourage them to allign

in harmony or using several lifting mechanisms to ensure the

balance.

Structure also needs looking gears between panels to ensure

rigidity and stop panels from taking a life of their own and mov-

ing forwards or back. That could also be solved by having the

central slide on a rail which will increase the stability highly.

IMPROVEMENTS

FUTURE DEV

60 •

MULTI-FUNCTIONDOORINFINITE

POTENTIAL.DIVEMODULARPANELDOORINFINITE

POTENTIAL.MODDYNAMICCURTAINWALLINFINITE

POTENTIAL.VEIL

1. 2. 3.

DOORS

• 61




POTENTIAL.VEIL

1. 2. 3.




POTENTIAL.VEIL

1. 2. 3.

DOORS

Art Markman, 2011, “Why do you hold the door for others”

http: //www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ulter ior-

motives/201105/why-do-you-hold-the-door-others

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People Interpret Automatic Door

Movement as Gesture

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viewFile/574/244

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bio-plastic-material/#axzz2vkEYYSam

http://www.lightform.com/

http://dornob.com/flexible-led-light-strips-for-diy-red-

blue-green-displays/#axzz2uQMQYduk

http://www.sciencedirect .com/science/article/pii/

S1474034605000480

http://www.houzz.com/

http://www.ivercarlson.com

http://www.core77.com/

http://www.coroflot.com/projects

http://www.dortek.com/

http://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/48047/why-do-

businesses-frequently-keep-one-half-of-double-doors-

locked

http://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/18238/why-do-

most-public-toilet-doors-open-inwards

http://www.freedoniagroup.com/DocumentDetails.

aspx?ReferrerId=FG-01&studyid=2949

APPENDIXRESOURCES

http://www.constructarabia.com/wp-content/uploads/

downloads/2012/09/GCC-Windows-and-Doors-Market-

Aug2012.pdf

http://www.constructarabia.com/wp-content/uploads/

downloads/2012/09/GCC-Windows-and-Doors-Market-

Aug2012.pdf

http : / /web.mit .edu/~slanou/www/shared_docu-

ments/366_06_REVOLVING_DOOR.pdf

ht tps : / /www.behance .net/gal lery/Transformer-

apt/6775861

Door of the future

Design

Transcript of Door of the future