Swing Doors Research Articles

Combined Effects of Thermal Buoyancy, Wind Action, and State of the First-Floor Lobby Entrance on the Pressure Difference in a High-Rise Building

The stack effect in high-rise buildings, stemming from an inside/outside temperature difference, may produce a significant pressure difference on the elevator doors, potentially causing elevator malfunctions. This effect can also be influenced by wind action and human behaviors, e.g., opening/closing of building entrances. In this study, a wind tunnel test was conducted to determine the real wind pressure distribution on a high-rise building in northern China. A numerical simulation utilizing the Conjunction of Multizone Infiltration Specialists software (COMIS) was carried out to investigate the pressure difference of elevator doors under the effects of thermal buoyancy, wind action, and opening/closing of the first-floor lobby entrance. An alternative solution of a locally strengthened envelope is proposed and validated for the studied building zone. The study reveals that the opening of the first-floor lobby entrance increases the pressure difference regardless of the environmental conditions, and the increase of wind speed tends to increase the pressure difference in winter but decrease it in summer. The proposed countermeasure combination, involving using revolving doors instead of swing doors, increasing additional partitions, and strengthening the local building envelope, was found to be synergistic and effective in reducing the pressure difference inside the building. The research findings offer practical engineering solutions for mitigating elevator door pressure challenges in high-rise buildings.

부산 공공문화시설의 유니버설디자인 적용

The purpose of this study is to analyze the status of universal design application at the Busan Cultural Center and suggest improvement measures. The facilities of the Busan Cultural Center were divided into six areas and a checklist of application evaluation elements of universal design was formed and an on-site investigation was conducted. As a result of the analysis, first, in the case of intermediate facilities, it is necessary to improve and manage the floor finish and gaps of access roads, and to provide safety passageways for pedestrians. Second, in the case of interior and exterior facilities, swing doors need to be replaced with automatic sliding doors, and more information signs and guidance blocks must be installed. Third, in the case of sanitary facilities, there must be sufficient facilities that can be used by users of various age groups, such as diaper changing tables and children's toilets, and a nursing room must be provided. Fourth, in the case of information facilities, it is necessary to install tactile maps and brochures written in Braille, and it is necessary to prepare a separate low-height information desk. This study can be used as basic data for applying universal design to public cultural facilities in Busan to create an environment where anyone can enjoy culture and arts.

Empirical analysis of commercial vehicle dwell times around freight-attracting urban buildings in downtown Seattle

Dwell time is defined as the time that delivery workers spend performing out-of-vehicle activities while their vehicle is parked. Restricting vehicle dwell time is widely used to manage commercial vehicle parking behavior. However, there is insufficient data to help assess the effectiveness of these restrictions. This makes it difficult for policymakers to account for the complexity of commercial vehicle parking behavior. The current study aims to identify factors correlated with dwell time for commercial vehicles. This is accomplished by using generalized linear models with data collected from five buildings that are known to include commercial vehicle activities in the downtown area of Seattle, Washington, USA. Our models showed that dwell times for buildings with concierge services tended to be shorter. Deliveries of documents also tended to have shorter dwell times than oversized supplies deliveries. Passenger vehicle deliveries had shorter dwell times than deliveries made with vehicles with roll-up doors or swing doors (e.g., vans and trucks). When there were deliveries made to multiple locations within a building, the dwell times were significantly longer than dwell times made to one location in a building. The findings from the presented models demonstrate the potential for improving future parking policies for commercial vehicles by considering data collected from different building types, delivered goods, and vehicle types.

The State of Housing of the Elderly with Vision Impaired and the Its Impacts on Quality of Life

People have experienced physical problems including vision problems with aging; some are normal and some are abnormal. When they have abnormal and impaired vision, they have a lower level of life satisfaction than their sighted peers. For the elderly with sight loss, well-designed housing could be an important indicator for their quality of life. Housing adjustment and modification could help the elderly cope with sight loss, do daily activities more independently, and lead to better quality of life. The purpose of this study is to investigate housing conditions for the elderly with vision impaired, state of housing adjustment or modifications, and the effects of housing conditions on the wellness of the elderly in Korea. For this study, 18 housing cases were investigated and a total number of 65 visually impaired people aged over 55 participated. Housing condition of those participated was poor. Most observed home hazards are level differences in living areas, obstacles in the hallway, confined space that is not allowed structural modification, swing doors from wardrobe or cabinets, color contrast, poor lightings, and etc. Majority of households participated in this study did not make modification or refurbishments, rather many of them tend to adapt themselves to their residential environments. Older adults living in better housing condition and under less difficult environments are likely to have higher life satisfaction. The effects of housing condition on wellness could be more influential when individual capabilities (e.g. health condition) are weaker. The findings underline that with intervention of individual characteristics, the effects of housing and physical environment on negative outcomes of vision loss would get ameliorated or reduced.

The Poet and His Anima

one morning on my way to class, I saw poster on the wall of the elevator inviting all students who resided in the Three Towers Residence to free BZZR GARDEN to be held in the common lounge the following Friday, starting at 6:oo p.m. In time I would come to learn that the expressions bzzr and a certain amber fluid meant beer, and that they were used by students on posters and in advertisements in the student newspaper to get around the Canadian liquor laws which prohibited the advertising of alcoholic beverages. I had never attended beer garden before. Indeed I had never put the words 'beer' and 'garden together, and I had to admit that their meeting created the kind of poetry which is supposed to happen when such an unusual conjunction takes place. A garden seems wonderful place in which to enjoy beer, except that our lounge was no garden, unless you wanted to use your imagination and convert the few potted plants that were there into one. I decided that I would attend this beer garden to see what it was about.When it was close to six that Friday evening, two of my Canadian neighbours knocked on my door and said it was time to go down to the free beer garden. I joined them and we took the elevator down. It was the first time in my life that I was using an elevator several times each day, and I was learning the behaviour code. You stand quietly and pretend not to notice anyone as you keep your eyes focused on the changing numbers of the floors as you pass them. On the ground floor, we left the vehicle in slow orderly fashion, not in the competitive rush to get out that you would find in my country. Then my Canadian neighbours and I, in the company of the other students who had just filled the elevator, walked through the glass-walled corridor that linked our West Tower to the other two, being careful to open and politely hold the two swing doors which enclosed the exit area to the car park but kept the cold out when the exit door was opened.When I got to the lounge, I saw sea of white faces in front of me. The residence accommodated over thousand students, and it seemed as if nearly everyone had accepted the administration's invitation. Bodies filled the sunken television lounge and all the surrounding areas, including the main lounge in front of the reception counter, the space between the deli and the bistro, and the walkways to the other two towers. My neighbours led the way to the room on the left where the beer was being served. I followed their example and chose Labatt Blue, very fine tasting beer, but I didn't think it was quite as good as our Jamaican Red Stripe.I returned to the lounge and noticed that I was now alone. My Canadian neighbours had probably linked up with classmates and friends and had forgotten that I was with them. I was thousands of miles away from home, as the plane flies, and new student at university where I knew no one. This was supposed to be 'mixer' - I soon learned the term - but I didn't see any mixing going on. People stood and talked in the little groups with which they had come, or, like me, stood quietly by themselves and watched the big crowd. I wasn't comfortable where I stood, for there was constant flow of bodies in and out of the beer room, and I had to keep adjusting to the constantly changing demographics of the spot. I didn't see any other spot where I felt I might be more comfortable. I began wondering what the hell I was doing there in that big, strange country, and in that sea of unfriendly bodies. I could have been reading quietly in my room.Then I turned and saw her face. She was stunning dark-complexioned Oriental woman with shoulder-length hair. There was such classic harmony in her features it made my heart sing. She was standing on the far side, to my left, in the back row near the corner of the walkway to the North Tower, with her back against the wall of letter boxes. I found myself staring at her as if hypnotised. …

Open access publishing: supporting the scientific endeavour

When studying for a postgraduate qualification in 1999, if I wanted a copy of an article, I had to find the right journal volume in the library, stagger down a flight of stairs and through two sets of swing doors balancing a pile of big dusty tomes, and queue for the photocopier, which more often than not was broken. This was certainly not the most efficient way to research the literature, and my efforts were being mirrored all over the world by researchers looking for information.

Light colour preference of growing rabbits

The objective of the experiment was to evaluate the light colour preference of growing rabbits placed in a free-choice cage. The experiment was carried out on 128 Pannon White growing rabbits weaned at the age of 5 weeks and placed into blocks (2m2) of four cages. The rabbits could move freely among the four cages (0.5m2 each) through swing doors. The cages differed only in the colour of the light applied (white, yellow, green or blue). The lighting schedule was 16L: 8D. From 6 until 10 weeks of age, infrared video recording was performed once a week (24 hours). The number of rabbits in each cage was counted every 15 minutes. Feed consumption was measured weekly. Between 6 and 10 weeks of age the rabbits significantly preferred white light (28.0%). The preference order was the following: yellow (26.3%), blue (23.4%) and green (22.3%) (P<0.001). No significant differences were recorded in the feed consumption among the cages. In conclusion, the cage preference of the rabbits was slightly affected by the light colour.

The road to Asia, and the Grafton Hotel, Dublin: Ireland in the ‘British world’

The title of this essay draws on a quotation from an article reflecting on the 1919–22 ‘crisis of empire’ written by the late J. A. (Jack) Gallagher (one half of Robinson and Gallagher, the finest double act in British imperial historiography). The complete sentence from which the title is derived reads as follows: ‘But for us the road to Asia lies through the swing doors of the Grafton Hotel in Dublin, one of the cover headquarters of the revolutionary Irish Government’. From time to time, alas, even Gallagher (like Homer) nodded, and it has to be said that his typically arresting image of the route to Asia is somewhat occluded by the fact that there is not, and never has been, a Grafton Hotel in Dublin. (He was evidently thinking of theGreshamHotel.) Yet the underlying point of his image is sound.

Rabbit preference for cages and pens with or without mirrors

Five-week-old Pannon White rabbits were housed in a closed climatized rabbitry and randomly assigned to either pens (56 rabbits) having a basic area of 1 m 2 with a stocking density of 16 and 12 rabbits/m 2 or to 18 individual cages (0.24 m 2/cage). The pens and the cages were divided into two halves and animals could move freely between the two halves through swing doors. The walls of one half of the pens and cages were completely covered with mirrors while the other half was covered with white plastic panels. A 24 h video recording was made twice a week using infrared cameras and the number of rabbits in each pen and cage was counted every 15 min. The duration of the trial was 6 weeks. The lighting period was 16L/8D. In each half of the cage or pen, a feeder and nipple drinkers were available and feed intake was measured separately. Throughout the entire rearing period, 72% of the individually caged rabbits showed a preference for the cage half enriched with mirrors ( P < 0.001). This preference decreased slightly with increasing age. Preference toward the cage half provided with mirror walls was independent of the time of day; in other words, during the active period (23:00–05:00) corresponding to the dark part of the day, rabbits continued to prefer the mirrored half even if the vision of the reflected image was reduced. The presence of conspecifics at different stocking densities (12 vs. 16 rabbits/m 2) did not reduce this interest in mirrors: averaging the ages, 66% of animals living at 16 rabbits/m 2 stocking density and 63% of those living at 12 rabbits/m 2 density were found in the half pen with mirrors ( P < 0.001). Group-penned rabbits showed a marked preference toward mirrors during the active period (73–76% for 12 and 16 rabbits/m 2 stocking densities, respectively; P < 0.001). The results suggest that the presence of mirrors offers advantages perhaps related to comfort and welfare, and therefore might be used as environmental enrichment for fattening rabbits and advised for rabbits caged individually for long periods.

Effect of cage height on the welfare of growing rabbits

The objective of this study was to analyze the preference of rabbits for cages of various heights, their production and occurrence of ear lesions. Experiments were conducted at the University of Kaposvár with Pannon White rabbits. In experiments 1 and 2 (preference test) growing rabbits ( n = 112) – weaned at 5 weeks of age – were housed in cage blocks (16 or 12 rabbits/m 2) having a basic area of 2 m 2. The cage block consisted of four equal size (0.5 m 2) cages and the rabbits could move freely among the cages through swing doors. The cages only differed in their height: in trial 1 the height of the cages was 20, 30, 40 cm or open top, in trial 2 the height of two cages was 30 cm and 40 cm, respectively. The rabbits had a low preference for open top cages, the least number of rabbits chose this cage type independently of the stocking density, age and part of the day (11.7–20.4% vs. 22.0–38.7%; p < 0.001). In trial 1 among the closed cages most of the rabbits stayed in the 40 cm and 20 cm high cage during the active and resting period, respectively independently of the stocking density ( p < 0.001). In trial 2 preference for the 30 and 40 cm high cages was the same. In trial 3 the rabbits ( n = 156) were kept between the ages 5 and 11 weeks in wire net floor pens having a basic area of 0.86 m 2 (13 rabbits/pen). Similarly to trial 1 the height of the pens was 20, 30 and 40 cm or open top. The cage height had no effect on the rabbits’ production. The frequency of the ear lesions connected with aggressive behaviours was the smallest and the greatest in the 30 cm and 20 cm high cages, respectively ( p < 0.05). Examining the rabbits’ preference, ear lesions connected to aggressive behaviour and production (indicators of well being) it can be concluded that the commonly used 30–35 cm high cages are satisfactory for the growing rabbits.

Artefacts in quarantine?

As the authors situate the discussion in their offices, let me also begin in mine. On my way home from the office there will be many things around me. They will mostly be familiar and go largely unnoticed. I will take my keys off the desk and lock the door behind me. I will walk along the corridor, through the swing doors, down the stairs, unlock my bike, and so on. Desk, keys, door, carpet, windows, stairs, lock, bike – these are all objects with which I interact. But do I necessarily notice them? As long as there is ‘smooth coping’, as long as these objects are ready to hand (Wheeler 2005, 129), then they remain in the background. These are not objects that hold me in their gaze; I do not ‘encounter’ them, in the sense of encountering, meeting or bumping into a person.

Behaviour of growing rabbits under various housing conditions

The aim of this research was to assess the effects of environmental variables (group size, stocking density, floor type, environmental enrichment) on behaviour – as a welfare indicator – of growing rabbits. Two experiments were carried out with Pannon White rabbits. In experiment 1, 5-week-old rabbits ( n = 112) were placed in cage blocks (2 m 2) with a stocking density of 16 or 12 rabbits/m 2. The cages (0.5 m 2) differed in the floor type (wire or plastic net) and in the presence or absence of gnawing sticks (white locust). The animals could move freely among the four cages through swing doors. Infrared video recording was performed once a week, the number of rabbits in each cage was counted every half an hour (48 times/day) during the 24 h video recording. Between ages 5 and 11 weeks the rabbits showed a preference towards the plastic net floor (16 rabbits/m 2, 62.5%; 12 rabbits/m 2, 76.5%; P < 0.001). Gnawing stick application significantly affected cage preference: 54.1% (16 rabbits/m 2) or 53.1% (12 rabbits/m 2) of the rabbits choose the enriched cages ( P < 0.001). In experiment 2, the 5-week-old rabbits were placed either in cages (2 rabbits/0.12 m 2, n = 72) or pens (13 rabbits/0.86 m 2, n = 104) with 16 rabbits/m 2. The floor types were wire or plastic net, with the presence or absence of gnawing sticks on the walls. Video recordings were made at 6.5 and 10.5 weeks of age between 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and between 11:00 p.m. and 05:00 a.m. Compared to cages, the rabbits housed in pens spent less time with resting (58% versus 67%) and more time with locomotion (6.7% versus 3.8%) but the frequency of aggressive behaviour (measured by the number of ear lesions) was also higher (0.14% versus 0.01%). In pens the application of gnawing sticks significantly decreased the frequency of ear injuries (0.05% versus 0.22%). The floor type did not affect any behavioural pattern (eating, drinking, movement, resting, comfort, social, investigatory) significantly. The main results showed that growing rabbits have a preference for plastic net floor and cages provided with gnawing sticks. The resting, locomotive and aggressive behaviour was modified by the housing system and the presence of gnawing sticks decreased the frequency of physical injuries.

Swing doors and musical chairs

Swing doors and musical chairs

The Upper Room

The Public Library was a grim, unattractive‐looking building. Smoke‐blackened and austere, it stood at the junction of two busy thoroughfares, with no outward manifestation of its identity apart from the almost obscured and somehow distasteful words “Free Library”, carved in stone over its portals. It was a repulsive structure, and for a moment or two I was conscious of the forbidding atmosphere which it seemed to radiate. But the town, which I was visiting for business reasons, offered few other attractions. I had dealt half‐heartedly with an un‐imaginative meal, and had a little time to spare. A post‐prandial browse among books seemed to be the only consolation available. Shaking off a feeling of repugnance, I stepped through the swing doors into the dim fastnesses of the interior.