Preparing for a More Accessible 2025
The New Year is knocking at the door, but the real question is how will you answer it?
As we look ahead to 2024, accessibility and convenience are becoming increasingly important in our everyday spaces. Whether it’s a bustling retail store or a quiet office building, the way we design our entrances can significantly impact the experience of everyone who walks through them.
A study called Automatic Door Trends Through the Eyes of Consumers and Key Buyers/Specifiers conducted by the American Association for Automatic Door Manufacturers (AAADM) surveyed nearly 500 adult Americans. This group nearly unanimously ranked accessibility as the most essential feature of an entrance, with safety at a close second. The same group was also asked which door they prefer to interact with – only 1.1% of respondents preferred a manual door, with 98.9% stating “they would definitely prefer to shop or stay at a business with automatic doors.”
The data doesn’t stop there; The International Journal of Design published a study conducted at Stanford titled Approachability: How People Interpret Automatic Door Movement as Gesture. Qualitative data suggests that automatic entrances uphold an emotionally welcoming sentiment. In the same way, when someone opens the door and makes eye contact with a visitor, an automatic door offers an interaction; a wave, push, or motion is a way to make people feel engaged when entering your facility.
With these insights in mind, you might be considering how to enhance your spaces to be more accessible and welcoming. There are several ways to achieve this, whether through automation or other improvements.
1. Get the glass cleaned: Schedule a professional window cleaning to spruce up any glass you may have. It is incredible what a big difference clean glass can make in your space.
2. Schedule a maintenance visit: Make sure your doors are functioning correctly and smoothly with a maintenance visit.
3. Update the hardware: For those manual doors that are looking a little worse for wear, getting a replacement knob or handle can really elevate the appearance and functionality of your spaces.
If you’re looking for a more comprehensive solution, automatic entrances might be worth considering. We have an entire team dedicated to retrofitting designs so that automation can blend seamlessly into your spaces. From traditional buildings to modern designs, we are equipped with a variety of finishes to make your interiors stay elevated and user-focused.
Whether you choose to automate or opt for other enhancements, making your spaces more accessible and welcoming is a step towards a more inclusive 2025. If automation is the way you want to go, let us know. We’d love to hear from you and help you make this year automatically awesome.