architecture

9 intriguing doors

call it a presumption but i’m certain we’ve all used doors before. without them life would be tough: either there’d be a lot of cold building interiors due to uncovered holes in the walls or we simply wouldn’t be able to enter the building in the first place.

what we don’t seem to come across very often are doors which are creative or just intriguing enough to catch our attention for more than a split second. here are some doors that would…

1. the neutron source door

at a hefty 97′000lbs, this is the world’s heaviest door on a hinge. it can be found at the lawrence livermore laboratory guarding the ‘rotating target neutron source-II’, the most intense source of continuous fusion neutrons on earth (hence the weight). due to a special bearing in the door hinge it is actually possible for one person to push the beast open - alternatively a remote control will give the same result.

2. nasa’s vehicle assembly building doors

the ‘vab’ is located at the kennedy space center and was originally constructed to accomodate the saturn v rocket, vertically. for that reason the building has an internal volume equal to 3.5 empire state buildings and boasts the 4 largest doors in the world, each 138.99 metres high. you’d be out of luck if you needed to move the doors quickly: each takes 45 minutes to open or close.

3. st. nicholas’ cathedral door

photo credit: mr jez


photo credit: trahern d

possibly the creepiest door i’ve ever seen is the fascinating one above, located in slovenia at st. nicholas’ cathedral. to be fair, all of the building’s doors are strange but none more so than this example, built in 1996 to commemorate a visit to the cathedral by pope john paul II. the design on this bronze door is apparently meant to ‘represent the history of the diocese’.

4. technoimport’s ridiculously secure door

supposedly the most secure residential door on earth, this colombia-made, indestructible monster claims the following features…

1. bullet-proof.
2. fire-proof.
3. explosive-proof.
4. ‘cutting machine’-proof.
5. 10 locks (3/4 inch pins).
6. biometric lock system (first analyses fingerprint and then checks for bloodflow to ensure the finger is attached to a living human).
7. ip camera integration (photo of waiting visitor can automatically be emailed somewhere every time the bell is pressed).

the price? considering all the above, a suprisingly low us$2500. just make sure the rest of your house is just as secure - there’s no point attaching it to a shed.

5. the tanaka auto door

could this be the future of door systems? the tanaka auto door opens automatically when someone stands in front of it, the opening exactly the correct size and shape to let that particular person walk through. each of the horizontal sliding slats which make up the door contain sensors which calculate the shape of the person walking towards it and retract accordingly. have a look…

6. the power pet door

it was only a matter of time before someone invented an automatic door for pets. the ‘power pet door’ seen in the clip below opens as the animal approaches to exit the house / urinate on the door and will only allow animals wearing a special microchip in the collar to use it.

7. secret bookshelf door

unless you’re a villain, own a batcave or have a huge stash of pornography to hide there isn’t really any practical reason to have a secret door. but i still definitely want one. there are a few companies who’ll do the hard work for you and create one in your home: here are 2. below is a 12 minute clip of a guy talking about his extremely cool ’secret bookshelf door’ in a monotone voice. i bet you can’t watch for more than 2 minutes.

8. automatic iris door

photo credit: dreamedstate

the 6ft automatic iris door above is the handywork of inventor benjamin skora and serves as the entrance to his revolving living room in palos hills, illinois. at the touch of a button it opens like a camera shutter and resembles something from the set of a dodgy sci-fi film. unfortunately no footage of the door in action could be found.

9. the disappearing car door

an incredible looking invention but wasted on the cars in this clip…

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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