From performance spaces and libraries to labs, lecture halls, and classrooms, buildings on university campuses require a wide range of special purpose door and window products. Administrators and architects need to consider many factors when undertaking new construction or renovating existing buildings on campus.
The first and foremost consideration is safety, balanced with providing optimal learning environments. The U.S. Census Bureau and the American Medical Association determined that excessive noise in the classroom reduces a student’s ability to hear the lessons by 25-30%. Based on these findings, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has developed criteria to help ensure that learning environments are optimally built for student safety and educational success. The ANSI Standard for Classroom Acoustics (ANSI S12.60-2002, Acoustical Performance Criteria, Design Requirements Guidelines for Schools) establishes safety guidelines and acoustical requirements that can be easily integrated into building projects on university campuses. In addition, the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) Safety and Security Guidelines for K-12 Schools provides valuable information for architectural decision-makers in any educational setting.
With more than eighty-five years of experience supplying quality custom doors and windows for schools and universities across the country, Krieger offers a full range of door assemblies with the STC (Sound Transmission Class) ratings up to STC 55 for doors and STC 56 for windows. Doors like these can ensure that campus facility designs meet or exceed the ANSI Standard, providing a great opportunity for projects to raise the bar on construction quality for any educational setting.
Acoustical Doors with Built-in Bullet Resistance
Safety on campus is a major concern, which is why designers would consider pairing acoustical doors with a bullet resistance rating as designated by Underwriters Laboratory (UL), adding an extra layer of security in the event of an intruder or active shooter. Designers can seek out custom doors to meet their exact criteria; such criteria may include safety features such as these:
• STC 45 doors constructed to include bullet resistance of UL Level 2
• STC 50 doors constructed to include bullet resistance of UL Level 3
• Hybrid construction with UL Level 4-9
• Windows with security blinds inside the panes of glass to block the view of an intruder into the room
• Interface with access control and electromagnetic security hardware
• Side lites and window wall configurations to enhance the architectural aesthetics
• UL Fire Labels of up to three hours
Special Purpose Doors
Special purpose doors are tested to ensure they can meet specialized requirements, and they receive ratings from accredited independent industry sources that attest to their ability to perform the desired function. Depending on the location’s requirements, special purpose doors may look like standard doors, or they may have a completely unique and customized aesthetic. Here’s a brief overview of various types of specialized performance needs:
Acoustical—Used for a wide range of applications from performance spaces to libraries for sound enhancement or noise reduction and containment
Bullet Resistant—Increases the safety and security of the interior or exterior doors on any campus building
Blast and Pressure Resistant—Used in labs, workshops, and mechanical rooms to protect personnel and property from explosions and explosion-borne projectiles
Radio Frequency Shielding—For use in data centers, healthcare settings with X-ray, or any other sensitive areas
Tornado and Hurricane Protection—Protects campus-designated shelters and safe rooms from high wind speeds associated with extreme weather events
Special Purpose Performance Combinations
Because every location is unique, designers should consider working with door and window manufacturers who can custom-build items to order. Whether a project requires an oversized acoustical stage door with a built-in bullet resistance rating for the theater department or an acoustical door that can withstand hurricane-force winds, a manufacturer who custom builds its products can engineer doors in any performance combination necessary. All of these special performance combinations can be manufactured in any size, style, and finish desired to ensure a seamless appearance with the surrounding architecture.
Industry Leader
Since its founding in 1936, Krieger Specialty Products has been a nationally recognized leader in special purpose doors and windows. The company offers a full range of industry-
leading design, manufacturing, testing, and installation of custom door and window products to fulfill various acoustical, safety and security, and radio frequency needs. Krieger aims to seamlessly combine form and function, fabricating its products with the utmost precision and quality to perform as needed—and to be aesthetically and historically appropriate as architects demand.
Krieger products are installed in some of the most high-profile, premier buildings in the United States, including the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Pentagon, and Griffith Observatory, as well as military installations, nuclear power plants, industrial plants, and embassies around the world. Krieger is proud to be a trusted manufacturer of specialty doors and windows for a wide range of projects at top universities such as Harvard University, University of Michigan, Stanford University, New York University, and California State University-Fullerton’s Clayes Performing Arts Center, along with hundreds of K-12 schools across the country. With a proven track record and a reputation for the highest quality products and service, Krieger is a premier provider of custom-built doors and windows needed for unique and specific functions.
