The direction in which doors open: left- or right-hinged?
Although each of us uses doors countless times every day, we never really give much thought to the direction in which they open. We usually use doors intuitively and without giving it a second thought. It is only when a door opens „the wrong way“ or in an impractical manner that there is cause to give this matter some thought. To ensure that this very situation does not arise, you should give a moment’s thought to the direction in which the door opens when purchasing telephone or meeting booths, or room-in-room systems.
In everyday language, it is sometimes difficult to describe the direction in which a door opens: after all, it makes a difference whether you are looking at the door from the inside or the outside. There is also often uncertainty as to whether „left“ refers to the side where the door is hinged or the side towards which the door opens. That is why it is good that there is a clear set of rules on this in the German Industrial Standard DIN 107, entitled „Designation of left and right in the building industry“!
Definition: Direction in which doors open (DIN 107)
In accordance with DIN 107, the terms „left“ and „right“ are determined by the door hinge side – that is, where the hinges of a door are located. It is important to note that this is always viewed from the side where the hinges, door hinges or fittings are situated. For all smaller acoustic cubes, this is therefore from the outside.
Which direction is best for opening?
Welche Öffnungsrichtung die Tür einer Telefon- oder Meetingbox haben sollte, hängt vom geplanten Standort ab. Bei geöffneter Tür sollten die Laufwege möglichst kurz sein – sprich: man sollte nicht um die Tür herum laufen müssen. Je nach Standort kann es auch sein, dass es dazu gar keine eindeutige Präferenz gibt. Bei der Aufstellung in der Nähe von Wänden sollte man die Türöffnungsrichtung jedoch bereits bei der Planung berücksichtigen. Dies veranschaulichen die folgenden Abbildungen:
Telephone boxes and similar: In some cases, the door opening cannot be modified retrospectively!
On some telephone booths, meeting rooms or workstations, the doors are designed so that they can be rotated through 180 degrees or fitted in the opposite direction. With such models, the direction in which the door opens can therefore be decided on the spot during on-site installation. But please note: this is not the case with some models! In these instances, the correct door opening direction must be specified at the time of ordering. We’d be happy to advise you on these and other topics via an online video call:
