This modern church building's entry facade called for three separate wood door openings across one continuous glass storefront wall, a center double door beneath its own small gable, flanked by a single door at each end under the flat canopy roof. Rather than three unrelated doors, the design needed one consistent visual language that could repeat across all three openings and still read as a unified entrance.
Project Story
The thinking behind the work
The Starting Point
The Thinking
A large circular glass cutout became the signature move, a full circle bisected by the meeting point of each door, quartered further by a horizontal crossbar, with the surrounding wood surface finished in a vertical reeded/fluted texture rather than a flat panel. That same circular motif and reeded detailing repeats identically across the center double doors and both single side doors, so all three openings read as one family of doors despite their different widths and locations on the facade. A natural golden-oak stain was chosen to stand out warmly against the building's cool glass, aluminum, and brick materials. Simple straight stainless pull handles keep the hardware minimal, letting the circular glass cutout and the reeded wood texture carry the design.
The Execution
Built as a matched set. One double door at the center entrance and one single door at each end of the facade, all sharing the same design language. Each door leaf combines a large circular glass cutout, quartered by a crossbar where applicable, with a vertically reeded/fluted wood surface surrounding the glass. Finished in a natural golden-oak stain. Hardware is straight stainless steel pull handles, mounted at the vertical center of each door.
The Result
Three separate entry points read as one cohesive design instead of unrelated doors scattered across a long glass facade, the repeated circular glass motif and reeded wood texture tie the center double doors and both single side doors together as a matched set, giving the building's entrance a consistent, modern identity.
Specification
Unit Size
6'-0" x 9'-6"
Panel Thickness
2¼"
Joinery
Mortise-and-tenon, no mechanical fasteners.
Glass
Large circular glass cutout per door, quartered by a horizontal crossbar on the double door leaves
Finish System
Marine-grade exterior finish, six sides, natural golden-oak stain
Hardware
Matched pair of brushed-nickel handlesets with pull grips and separate deadbolts.
Installed By
Scobis
Common Questions
What condition were the original doors in before replacement?
The original metal-clad doors had failed structurally, the cladding was rusted through and torn away at the bottom corner, exposing the material underneath, with a mismatched modern handleset that didn't match the door's age or the church's traditional stone entrance. This was a necessary full replacement, not a stylistic upgrade.
Why add a glass transom when the original door didn't have one?
The original solid door let in no daylight at all into the entry. Adding an arched transom above the new doors brings real light into the entrance for the first time, while keeping the door panels themselves solid and traditional to match the carved stone archway.
Why choose a traditional six-panel design instead of something more ornate?
The carved stone surround, with the church's name inscribed above the arch, already carries significant architectural detail on its own. A clean, traditional panel design lets the door hold up to that level of craftsmanship in material and finish without competing with the stonework for attention.
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