A common issue in educational environments is making space for both activity and rest, particularly in early childhood centres where nap time is important. Floor space needs to be assigned to play, sleep, or with an innovative solution; it can become both.

Juralco interior 350 doors are highly adaptable and versatile throughout and offer customisable solutions to suit light commercial applications like an early childhood education centre.

The creation of flexible, varied, functional, and connected spaces is important to the design of an educational building and is outlined in Ministry of Education design guides. Sliding doors create multifunctional areas, rather than highly specialised ones that cannot be used for any other purpose.

When it came to designing a multi-purpose area at a Christchurch day-care that could be used for such diverse activities as puzzles and sleeping, the 350 series range of sliding doors were specified to help truly transform the space when it was time for an afternoon nap.

The 350 series sliding doors are incredibly versatile with a range of panel materials and colour options. They can be top hung or bottom rolling, which has an optional soft-close feature to help prevent slamming. In this case, bottom rolling tracks were installed snugly against the floor to avoid becoming a trip hazard. With triple door panels, the system can slide right out of the way allowing active toddlers to play freely in a nice open classroom.

Panels can include a range of materials and in this project, the combination of Melteca and toughened safety glass were chosen so that teachers can keep an eye on the children while they rest, without potentially waking them.

With options like Melteca light Maple and frosted glass available for creating an elegant minimalist look, the Juralco 350 series interior doors are also right at home as wardrobe doors in the bedroom.