Design professionals will often chose to specialize in a specific field of design, some focusing their energies on residential project and others choosing more commercial or hospitality projects. The American Society of Interior Design is a good place to find the right design professional for your project and thereby ensure that the chosen door handle fits your budget , suits the aesthetics of the setting and meets any applicable regulatory standards. So what exactly do we mean by residential versus commercial projects and how do they differ when it comes to choosing a door handle? Let’s begin with considering the different areas that are encompassed by the term commercial design.
The term covers projects in the health care sector, restaurant and hospitality arena as well as office and retail space and institutions. In the hospitality sector an interior designer will be working with public areas that are being used for entertainment ranging from brand conscious casino and hotels to individual and multiple location restaurants. In the office sector the range of use runs the gamut from the campus style planning for a corporate headquarters to the private and public areas of a professional or service company.
 |
| Stainless Steel Entry Doors to Office Lobby |
At first glance the residential sector may appear more homogeneous but ask just about any interior designer to describe their portfolio of work and it becomes clear that this sector embraces every interior from a compact Eco designed studio to the renovation of a cantilevered home in the Hollywood Hills. Many designers chose to encompass both areas and in part one can thank the global recession for broadening the designers’ client base.
However, regardless of specialty, the areas of commercial and residential design demand a different type of door handle. In the commercial sector where the number of door handles for a given project will be considerable then budget constraints and wear and tear will be a major consideration. We might only use the door handle to our kitchen a few times a day but consider the number of times a door handle in a guest suite may be used in a hotel or casino. Not surprisingly the spring mechanism within the door lock or bored lever will need to be strong enough to endure repeated cycles of use and the ANSI/BHMA l standards will require a performance of anywhere from 800,000 to 5,000,000 cycles depending on the location and intended use of the door. While the regulatory requirements may well limit the choice of door hardware for commercial projects, there are companies that offer a wide range of custom door handles and that are designed for use with the American made mortise lock by Accurate Lock which meets the ANSI/BHMA A156.13.2005 standard of 5,000,000 cycles.
