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Some say expanding natural light into more interior space is an unwritten law of design.
In some countries, it is law.
In England, the 359-year-old Law of Ancient Lights forbids a neighboring building from restricting daylight in certain conditions. Japan has a law called Nisshoken (“a right to sunshine”) that more than 300 Japanese cities use to limit excessive shadowing.
In the U.S., the question of natural light has its own debate. If Senate-approved Daylight Savings Time legislation prevails, “spring ahead” will take permanent effect in November 2023.
The Architects & Design community works hard to expand the benefits of daylighting. The value of opening more interior space to natural light includes a stronger connection with nature, enhanced health and wellness, and improved sustainability. Passive strategies to achieve that include building orientation, windows, skylights, clerestories, awnings, light shelves, and solar tubes.
The more natural light, the better.
Entryway Transformation
However, there’s one area of the home that’s often overlooked as a natural light portal: the entryway. Today designers brighten entryway space in several ways:
- Transom windows
- Sidelites
- Well-positioned mirror
- All-white or light-colored paint
Yet, these design strategies don’t address the central player in entryway lighting, the entry door.
Today a new generation of entry doors outfitted with full lite direct glazing are reinventing entryway elegance and natural illumination. Advanced engineering and manufacturing methods have tabled many of the old concerns often associated with full lite glazing, such as insulation, privacy, resiliency and security. What’s more, next-gen full lite direct glazed fiberglass entry doors exhibit durability characteristics wood and steel doors can’t match.
Next-Generation Entry Doors
Few understand those differences better than Herb Martin, district sales manager for Plastpro, a leading U.S.-based family owned and operated manufacturer of fiberglass doors.
Take security, for example. “While a door with glass inserts may not be quite as secure as a full slab door, entry-door glass inserts are more durable than normal glass. The designer can flood the area with natural light with reduced security concerns,” Martin explains.
“Privacy is modulated through transparency,” the industry veteran observes. “Translucent or opaque glass provides privacy by reducing clarity. For example, one effective strategy is to combine translucent glass with clear glass. Clear glass is installed in the upper part of the door, offering maximum daylight harvesting without sacrificing privacy.”
Plastpro Stands Apart
The new class of full lite direct glazed entry doors from Plastpro adds an extra layer of security protection with a full-length lock block. The lock block is critical to door lock integrity. In most doors the lock block covers an area of 18 to 20 inches around the lock. Full-length lock block supports lock placement in any area and in any configuration, such as multi-lock applications.
The imperative to add more daylight, reduce artificial light, cut electricity use, and achieve greater sustainability encourages A&D professionals to use every reasonable option to increase daylighting. Today’s next-gen direct glazed entry door represents a superb way to add an important natural light source to the residential and multifamily built environment.
Learn more about how full lite direct glazed entry doors from Plastpro can help transform the beauty, lighting and resilience of your next project.
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