Credit for the post title – and for today’s Fixed-it Friday photo – goes to Tyler Michieli of Alan Ford Architects.  It’s so rare to see doors where such careful coordination is apparent…maybe the whole point is for us not to notice the doors at all.  But take a moment to appreciate this opening from the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC (I.M. Pei).

Tyler asked about the integral panic hardware on these doors, as the projection is minimal and the hardware is the same color as the doors.  The U.S. model codes and referenced standards do not specify the required projection or the amount of color contrast between the hardware and the door.  It’s up to the code official to determine whether the doors can be operated for egress without special knowledge or effort.  I had an application on one of my museum projects years ago, where the AHJ allowed Von Duprin Inpact devices that closely matched the finish of the doors (photos here).

What do you think? 

Museum doors where egress bars have low color contrast with the rest of the door

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