2021 Version Requires Automatic Doors for Entrances to Public Buildings
Accessibility advocates won a victory when the 2021 International Building Code included a mandate for inclusion of automatic doors at the entrances to public buildings including retail stores, restaurants, clubs and casinos, movie theaters and concert halls, libraries, banks, and college dormitories.
“IBC 1105.1.1 stipulates that, in facilities meeting building occupant load thresholds for a number of common occupancies, public entrances that are required to be accessible shall have one door be either a full power-operated door or a low-energy power-operated door.”
Depending on the type of building, the mentioned thresholds must be greater than 300 or 500 people.
“The code addresses a public need,” said Joe Hetzel, technical advisor to the American Association of Automatic Door Manufacturers (AAADM). “It is widely accepted that automatic doors enhance overall accessibility and accommodate a wide array of conditions that might make using standard doors difficult, if not infeasible. The new code requirement accommodates a wide variety of accessibility needs that manual doors being installed today cannot encompass.”
Learn more about the new building code at www.iccsafe.org/ and see the full press release at www.aaadm.com.