Pivot door – the fascinating entry door
The pivot door gives a wide and generous opening and simple modern appearance, perfectly fitted to contemporary architecture. As an alternative to the sliding glass doors or conventional revolving doors, the pivot door is a fascinating solution as a front door for large entrance areas. However, many pivot doors currently on the market cannot compete with normal or sliding doors in terms of tightness. This is the great advantage of the air-lux pivot door: we guarantee 100% tightness at an unprecedented size of 15 m².
What is a pivot door?
The pivot door or pivot window is an opening system with a central or lateral rotating axis that allows for very large door panels in glass and other materials. The modern look and elegant, smooth movement of the pivot window create a true design statement. At the same time it is resistant to the strains of daily use. The pivot door system is a special eye-catcher as an entry door, but of course also works in the interior space.
The main technical difference to the usual hinged door or window is that the hinge hardware is not placed on the side of the door pannel or window frame and thereby attached to the wall. By contrast, pivot hinges are installed at the top and bottom of the door frame. As they are supported by the bottom arm and the floor instead of the door frame, the stress on the frame is reduced. This helps to prevent both the door and frame from sagging. Pivot hinge hardware is able to support much heavier doors than the typical door hinges. There are vertical pivot windows as well as horizontal pivot windows, often used as roof windows.
More possibilities with the air-lux pivot door
Most of the suppliers of pivot doors restrain the size of their doors to 10 m², the wight to 500 kg and the glass thickness to 45 mm – this is no comparison to what we can offer with the air-lux pivot door.
What is air-lux?
air-lux is a floor-to-ceiling glass façade system with large-surface sliding windows, descending windows or pivot doors and a unique, patented sealing concept. The typical air-lux windows are large-sized and frameless and enable a seamless transition from interior to exterior space.
The air-lux patented pneumatic sealing works like this: With the press of a button, air is introduced into a rubber tube which lies in the frame. This closes the gap between the slider and the fixed frame, creating a perfect seal. To open the unit, the button is pressed a second time. The air is released and the seal retracts to its original concave profile. This sealing system guarantees 100% impermeability, even for high-rise buildings with high wind loads and driving rain.
Behind air-lux stands Krapf AG, a leading metal and façade engineering company from Switzerland with over 80 employees.
The advantages of the air-lux pivot door
With the air-lux pivot door, one does not have to make any compromise. air-lux pivot doors offer several advantages:
- Door sizes up to 15 m² (three metres wide, five metres high)
- Door weight up to 1500 kg
- Glass thickness up to 60 mm (alarm glass or bullet-proof safety glass possible)
- 100% impermeability through the air-lux pneumatic sealing system
- Wide range of materials like glass, wood, steel or architectural bronze/stone
- 10-year guarantee
A total of 5 prizes awarded to the air-lux pivot door between 2018 and 2020 prove the unbeatable quality of the product – read more at the end of this article.
Door sizes up to 15 m² and a maximum weight of 1500 kg
The bigger the better – also true for pivot windows! The larger the pivoting windows, the more impressive the effect when opened. We recommend a maximum size of 15 m² (three metres wide, five metres high). But if you have other plans, just contact us – we will certainly take on the challenge!
The maximum weight of an air-lux pivot door is approximately 1500 kg, the maximum thickness of the glass is 60 mm. There is an option of manufacturing alarm glass or bullet-proof safety glass. Despite this enormous weight the door swings easily and smoothly around its axis.
Wide range of materials
Regarding materialization there are numerous options: Whether glass, special wood, steel or architectural bronze or stone, we design door panels in every material and surface. The core always consists of high-quality, thermally insulated aluminium profile clads, which we plank with the desired material.
100% impermeability guaranteed
The way our pivot windows open is new, but our unique pneumatic sealing system has not changed. As with the horizontal sliding units, 100% impermeability is guaranteed. This is provided by two continuous, inflatable ring seals that are fully integrated into the aluminium profiles – without any weak points in the corners and with none of the frictional resistance typical of conventional brush seals.
The combination of the patented air-lux profile technology with multi-glazing and the patented pneumatic air-lux sealing system ensures highly effective thermal insulation and optimum warmth yield. The air-lux system already fulfils the energy standards of tomorrow and is ideally suited to sustainable and modern construction.
Safety – mechanical and electronic
air-lux pivot doors have a total of four electromechanical locking points and two pivot points connected by ball bearings to the fixed component. Electronic components to monitor the door’s closing position and locking provide convenient control and monitoring of the pivoting door via the building services (alarm system, home automation system, etc.). This can also be managed with mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. Expert engineers ensure careful coordination with security officers and electrical system planners.
Smooth operation
Inside, a push button is usually installed in the vertical frame profile. Outdoor operation can be through a key fob, fingerprint scanner or numeric code. When the button is pressed with the door closed, the two air seals deflate and the locking bolts retract. A door closure installed in the door profile provides silent, automatic closing. When the button is pressed with the door open, the locking bolts close the element and simultaneously pump air into the seals, sealing the unit perfectly.
10-year guarantee
air-lux pivoting doors are manufactured from high-quality materials in Switzerland. The finishing on the robust yet elegant frames meets the highest quality standards. air-lux is therefore able to guarantee perfect operation and offer a 10 Year Guarantee on the seals, framework and fittings. Our service team also provides 24-hour support for air-lux customers.
Several awards prove unbeatable quality of air-lux pivot door
Between 2018 and 2020, the air-lux pivoting door has already won several awards. The crowd-puller at BAU Munich 2019 has already received an award from the AIT Innovation Competition, later in the year the DETAIL Product Prize 2019 from the trade journal for architecture, and in the competition "Houses of the Year - the best single-family homes" the Product Prize of the Year 2019 in the category of exterior doors and gates. In the context of the German Design Award 2020, the air-lux pivoting door wins in the category "excellent product design".
Not read enough yet? Check out our flyer below or contact us – we are happy to provide you with any information needed.