Freedom Mortgage opens the door to natural light with fire-rated glass doors

As a point of entry, or a critical passageway between two spaces, doors help set the visual tone for buildings, support proper wayfinding and enhance views. For many architects, it is crucial that products in these highly visible and frequently accessed locations don’t detract from a building’s appearance or block access to daylight to meet fire- and life-safety criteria. This design goal was underscored in the retrofit of Freedom Mortgage, a home refinancing and mortgage lending company near Denver, Colorado, where new fire-rated doors complement the building’s modern aesthetic and welcome natural light into the office suite’s interior. 

Situated in a contemporary office building in Greenwood Village, Freedom Mortgage fosters homeownership across Colorado and employs residents of the local community. As the Greater Denver Area boasts 300 days of sunshine per year, transferring daylight from the building’s large exterior windows deep into the interior presented an opportunity to illuminate more of Freedom Mortgage’s office space and further establish an atmosphere of transparency and openness. However, maximizing its potential meant bringing egress points up to code in a way that preserves the office’s aesthetic and pours abundant natural light through the office suite’s entryway.

To meet the need for sophisticated fire protection, Waring Associates, a Denver-based architectural and interior design firm specializing in commercial interiors, selected single and double full-lite fire-rated glass doors from Technical Glass Products. Cold rolled in durable stainless steel with a brushed stainless steel finish, the slender Fireframes® Designer Series doors support FireLite Plus® fire-rated glass ceramic, a 5/16” thick laminated fire-rated and impact safety-rated glazing material. The 45-minute-rated lites provide exceptional surface clarity and pair with Fireframes fire-rated frames to deliver a code-compliant, visually appealing doorway.

In addition to meeting fire- and life-safety code, the fire-rated glass doors visually match the office’s modern aesthetic. Their 2-3/4” slender stainless steel profiles are significantly thinner than traditional hollow metal steel profiles and closely resemble the look of adjacent non-fire-rated assemblies. With sleek, narrow sightlines and crisp edges, the fire-rated glass doors blend seamlessly with the space’s overall appearance and encourage smooth wayfinding.

To create an open, bright office, Fireframes Designer Series doors accompany the light-welcoming attributes of FireLite Plus. The large fire-rated glass ceramic panel’s surface quality and color emulate the look of non-rated glass, and the door’s thin profiles help maximize visual connectivity and transfer daylight from large exterior windows along the building perimeter. Today, the complete assembly provides around-the-clock protection against the spread of fire and continually welcomes Colorado sunshine into Freedom Mortgage’s office.

Learn more about Fireframes Designer Series fire-rated doors and FireLite Plus fire-rated glass ceramic.