Automatic Sliding & Swing Door Systems for Commercial and Hospitality Entrances

Every hotel lobby, retail entrance, and office tower relies on doors that hundreds of people pass through every day without a second thought until the system fails, drags, or doesn’t meet accessibility code. Automatic sliding doors and automatic swing doors both do this job well, but they solve different problems and getting the specification wrong shows up immediately: doors that are too slow for foot traffic, too fast to be safe, or that simply don’t qualify for compliance sign-off.

Automatic Sliding Doors for High-Traffic Entrances

Automatic sliding doors are the default for main entrances handling continuous foot traffic malls, hotel lobbies, and office towers where the door needs to stay clear of the walking path entirely rather than swinging into it. They’re specified around traffic volume and width, sensor coverage, and how the system fails in a power outage, since egress doors on an automatic system still need a manual fail-safe. Telescopic and synchronised configurations exist for wider openings, which is where the mechanism, not just the door leaf, becomes the real specification decision.

Chainlink Artworks for Movement and Light

Where cast metal is fixed and solid, chainlink artworks do the opposite job. Anodised aluminium chain systems are lightweight, fully scalable, and shift with airflow and light rather than sitting static which is why they’re used for façade cladding, ceiling features, and space dividers that need to filter light without fully closing a space off. They’re also the fastest of the three to customise: pattern, colour, and density can be adjusted without the lead time cast metal requires, and an aluminum facade application can cover a large surface without the structural load a solid metal cladding panel would add.

Automatic Swing Doors for Controlled Access Points

Automatic swing doors suit a different use case entrances where space is tighter, where a controlled single point of access matters more than continuous flow, or where the door needs to integrate with a vestibule or airlock arrangement. They’re common at hospital entrances, office reception points, and accessible entrances required under Dubai’s accessibility code, which specifically calls for automatic doors at public building entrances. Sensor placement and opening force both need to be specified carefully here, since a swing door opening into a corridor carries different safety risk than one opening into open lobby space.

Door Automation Systems: What Sits Behind the Door

Behind either door type, the door automation systems motors, sensors, safety beams, and control logic are what actually determine reliability over years of use, not the door leaf itself. This is where automation quality differs most: sensor sensitivity, obstacle detection, and how the system behaves during a fire alarm or power failure. Specifying automation separately from the door leaf, rather than treating it as a single bundled product, gives a project the flexibility to match automation quality to how heavily a given entrance will actually be used day to day, and to service or replace the mechanism later without redesigning the whole entrance.

Getting the Specification Right

Automatic sliding doors, automatic swing doors, and the automation systems behind them all need to be specified together with accessibility compliance, fire egress, and expected foot traffic in mind not chosen off a catalogue page. Aurra supplies and specifies these systems alongside the rest of our ironmongery range, from locking systems to cabinet hardware, so the entrance is coordinated with everything else in the building rather than treated as a separate line item. Talk to our team before automatic door systems go into your next tender.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between automatic sliding doors and automatic swing doors?

Automatic sliding doors move parallel to the wall and stay clear of the walking path, making them suited to continuous high-traffic entrances. Automatic swing doors pivot open like a standard door but under automation and suit tighter spaces or controlled single-point access.

Are automatic doors required by law in Dubai?

Dubai’s accessibility regulations, including the Dubai Universal Design Code incorporated into the Dubai Building Code, specifically require automatic doors at public building entrances. This applies to hotels, malls, hospitals, and other public-facing commercial buildings.

What happens to automatic doors during a power outage?

Automatic door systems are specified with fail-safe or fail-secure behaviour depending on the door’s role egress doors typically need to fail open or allow manual operation, while secure doors may fail locked. This needs to be agreed with fire and life safety consultants at specification stage, not decided by the automation supplier alone.

Can door automation systems be added to an existing manual door?

In many cases yes, though it depends on the existing door leaf’s weight, frame, and structural mounting points. It’s usually assessed case by case rather than assumed to be a standard retrofit.

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