Door, window, and safety systems for comfortable office buildings
Door, window and safety concepts in office buildings are developed to handle sometimes conflicting requirements: design and comfort need to be combined with accessibility, fire protection, and safety measures. GEZE solutions combine standardised technology with specific needs, so that employees, along with customers and visitors, feel comfortable in the office space.
An impressive and functional entrance area is an office building’s business card
Optimal use of daylight: restaurant entrance © Lorenz Frey / GEZE GmbH
The entrance area to an office complex generally needs to be impressive and inspiring, but at the same time inviting. Classic requirements need to be met, such as accessible door comfort, access control, burglar resistance, emergency exit protection and reliable smoke and heat extraction, plus remote operation and monitoring. GEZE solutions help in many ways.
Fully automatic revolving door systems by GEZE are an optimal solution to reliably and safely handle heavy volumes of traffic, with people constantly coming in and out. Large three-leaf glass designs were installed in the Roche Tower in Basel, for instance, with a passage clearance and width of three metres. The revolving doors integrate perfectly into the purist interior architecture, underscoring the inviting atmosphere of the building. Thanks to maximum transparency, they make full use of daylight from the light stairwells, each of which connects several storeys. If a revolving door is unable to fulfil demands in terms of accessibility and emergency exit protection, GEZE swing door solutions may be a better option.
This example also shows how GEZE can address specific needs: GEZE has created all the conditions for an individual lighting solution to be integrated into door constructions. The revolving doors in the Roche Tower were developed and manufactured in GEZE's own factory for project-specific solutions.
Multifunctional doors ensure comfort, accessibility, and fire protection
Complex door technology, fine-framed and centrally controllable © Jürgen Pollak / GEZE GmbH
Doors are a core element in ensuring accessibility, preventive fire protection, emergency exit protection, and in access control systems. They can often be subject to opposing demands, all of which must be met. GEZE has developed door solutions for office buildings that meet precisely these demands, for instance at the Vector company headquarters in Stuttgart:
on the second floor, a multifunctional safety door regulates access authorisations so that employees can enter and leave the facility at specified times. It also serves as fire section door and accessible escape route door. All door functions can be centrally monitored via the building management system, saving building managers from travelling long distances. We were able to implement the sophisticated door design using technology that takes up minimal space: the Powerturn, for example, is only seven centimetres tall. To visually emphasise the door status, a back light LED display has also been selected for the stainless steel TZ 320 designer door control unit.
In summary: a door that is not only capable of many functions, but that also fits with the design concept of the company's headquarters.
Go to the GEZE Vector company headquarters in Stuttgart reference project
Intelligent window technology delivers fresh air to the office
Natural ventilation with automated windows is convenient and energy-efficient. © Exorbitart / GEZE GmbH
Modern offices should provide a comfortable working atmosphere. A good inflow of fresh air into the workplace helps us to concentrate better. Efficient air exchange using intelligent ventilation control systems is important in improving room air quality and hygiene in offices.
Advantages of automated window ventilation
In the past, mechanical ventilation systems and air conditioning systems were often used, primarily to control the room temperature. However, the coronavirus pandemic made the disadvantages of these ventilation systems clear: if the air filters are not fine enough, aerosols and therefore viruses are not filtered out of the air, but instead remain in circulation in the air. In contrast to an air circulation system, controlled natural ventilation using automated windows ensures an effective air exchange. Fresh air and oxygen come in through the open windows, while stale and used air flows out.
In comparison to many ventilation and air conditioning systems, the natural ventilation method with intensive ventilation also improves energy efficiency, since it reduces heating and electricity costs.
Natural ventilation is an efficient solution for significantly improving indoor air. A ventilation system controlled by automatic window drives also consumes less energy than most ventilation systems.
Karen Sum, Head of Global Account Management GEZE GmbHSmart ventilation systems
Automated window drives can be combined with specialised sensors, for instance to measure the CO2 content in the indoor air, or the indoor room temperature, and open or close the windows accordingly.
In large office buildings, smart networking of the automated window systems with the building management technology is useful so that the ventilation can be controlled centrally. Our automatic window drives in the IQ windowdrive range can be integrated easily into the building management technology. In many cases, specific safety elements are mandatory for power-operated windows, to ensure the safety of building users.
For impressive façades: safe and easy operation of heavy windows
Large office buildings often impress with a glass façade and large windows. Even heavy window elements of up to 200 kg leaf weight are no problem for our F 1200+: the window drive has an especially powerful motor gear unit – and yet is extraordinarily quiet. It can be used to create impressive, smart façades.
GEZE safety analysis
Under the European Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, power-operated and automated windows are classified as machines. As a result, there are risk assessment specifications not just for manufacturers, but also for the planners, fitters and operators of these windows. Use our safety analysis to assess the risk.
Ideal for open-plan offices: flexible room division with partition wall systems
The GEZE Pendulo System
Rooms without visual restrictions – glass partition wall systems can be used to spatially separate floors or parts of floors, without losing light and transparency. The Pendulo all-glass wall system by GEZE allows many different elegant solutions to be realised. The walls can be used in office planning to create individual rooms or even divide a large area into smaller rooms to provide additional structure. What’s special about it: the GEZE system conceals the intelligent technology – an integrated door closer – in its lower designer profile. This means that the door can be opened in both directions, it offers a balanced closing movement, and it swings gently back to its rest position.
Planning of the GEZE all-glass wall system is also straightforward: the online Pendulo configuration allows complete solutions to be designed quickly and easily from a single source, tailored to your individual wishes.
For increased safety in the office: reliable control through security interlocking door systems
Glazed automatic doors with access control © Annika Feuss / GEZE GmbH
Access control plays a role in every office building. Different groups of people have different authorisations, such as employees, public users, suppliers, or cleaning staff. In addition, visitors sometimes need to be admitted to the building in isolation, either to ensure building security or to hand over sensitive materials. But it’s important never to lose sight of comfort – visitors should never feel they are being “processed”, and should instead have a sense of security.
GEZE solutions meet these demands at the Gelsenkirchen Judiciary Centre: Powerturn drives are combined with Slimdrive swing door systems in the security interlocking door systems as access to the atrium. An access control system restricts entrance to one of the interlocking door systems to members of the court. Two further control systems serve as isolating systems to manage all other groups of individuals. The fourth interlocking door system serves as an exit, preventing uncontrolled access to the atrium. The exterior security interlocking door does not open until the interior door is closed. The convenience of automatic opening and closing provided by Slimdrive EMD-F swing door systems allows users to enter and leave the security interlocking door systems more quickly, enabling security staff to check identity more efficiently. This security solution is a good choice for narrow door frames and cramped areas, as is common with interlocking door systems.
Go to the GEZE Gelsenkirchen Judiciary Centre reference project
Door, window, and safety expertise for banks and offices
The entrance area to Deutsche Bank in Stuttgart
Performance, reliability, expertise, flexibility, discretion, safety and comfort are the attributes associated with a bank. Modern architecture translates these traditional values into a pleasant atmosphere that combines discretion and transparency. Bank foyers and customer areas today thus increasingly resemble attractive hotel lobbies or airport lounges.
Building safety plays an important role in buildings where large numbers of people congregate or enter and leave – and not just because of legal requirements. Door and window safety is crucial when it comes to preventive fire protection, the control of escape and rescue routes and, particularly in a bank, protection against theft and burglary, plus access control. To achieve each of these objectives, GEZE offers individual solutions and solution concepts that combine separate security demands in a single intelligent system.
GEZE has earned a global reputation for its innovative strength and expertise in solution design, and has fitted out bank buildings in many different countries. GEZE offers a wide range of door, window and safety technology and building automation from a single source. GEZE products fulfil all legal requirements and guidelines.
