apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

There's a recently completed building here in downtown Cincinnati that has garage-style doors in the apartments that open up to the balconies. I haven't seen this close up, but here are some photos of one of those setups in action:

http://5chw4r7z.blogspot.com/2009/10/parker-flats-friday_30.html

The fact that the TV swivels around from inside to the balcony is pretty cool, if you're into that sort of thing!

I wonder what kind of heat efficiency there is around this kind of door. Is it really practical for northern climes?

Groovy! Love the idea of garage door becoming a window and especially movable ones. It gives to to the space a lofty kind of look especially in rooms with high ceilings.Can be combined with mid-century modern furniture
with a minimal look and can transform a garage to a retro modern living area. Actually the photos demonstrate that perfectly.Love the idea.

I am in love with this idea and would love to see some of the upcoming lofts in my area incorporate this. Imagine all the light and the amazing breeze this could let in! Although, on a realistic note, I do wonder about what @juliaonhamilton is saying in regards to heat efficiency. Maybe somethings are better in theory?

You can get a better idea of the door with this picture

http://5chw4r7z.blogspot.com/2009/03/parker-flats-friday_20.html

I started calling it my city door since garage door didn't sound appropriate.
You can't under estimate just how incredible opening this door is.

I love this idea as well. juliaonhamilton - good point that I hadn't thought of, I might have to research this a bit more before busting out the french doors.

It looks nice, and for the right space it could work (like a pool house or seasonal room), but it's not efficient. Garage doors are not well insulated.

The Shutter House project designed by Shigeru Ban has a glass curtain wall that folds up, and seems to be made out of insulated glass, but we're talking about a $3,000 psf development. The hardware to lift a wall of insulated glass is serious equipment.

love love love this and am hoping to find an efficient way to do it when I build my house. DFW is so nice in the spring and fall that I love having all the windows and doors open.

huge fan of this.

this is on my list for my dream house.

When I was in law school in Austin I studied at a coffee shop that appeared to be repurposed from a former gas station/garage. It had wonderful garage doors that would be pulled up in nice weather (which is a lot of the time). Ever since then I have always loved the idea.

Only if they come in thermapane

Oops, juliaonhamilton pretty much said that.

I know of one such door installed in a school music room to allow for an indoor/outdoor performance space -- this brilliant idea means the music room is frigid in winter and painfully hot in summer -- and other parts of the school are not likewise affected, so it's totally due to the uninsulated nature of the door. That said, I've admired the design in various restaurants -- they're lovely when someone else is footing the HVAC bill.

When you open the garage door, every bit of air-conditioned (it's 90 here today) or heated air goes whooshing out of the 8x16' opening.

I've been in that home in the first 2 photos before it was finished. It looks great. It's in Portland, where I see lots of garage doors worked into designs in homes and commercial space. The home probably isn't very efficient to begin with due to the high ceilings, but the light the thing lets in, especially in the winter, is hard to put a price on.

Looks great but they can't be sealed right. We have on in the office and air slips through in the cold season and you bake during the summer.
Nanawall is a more practical solution for homes, they are made for conditioned spaces.
They did use http://www.bifold.com/ aircraft hanger doors on a leed project at stanford, it may be a better option for if you want that industrial look. you can see it at:

http://www.inhabitat.com/wp-content/uploads/stanford-2.jpg

When you open the garage door, every bit of air-conditioned or heated air goes whooshing out of the 8x16' opening.

Well the whole idea is to let the outside in and the inside out. They aren't the most airtight in the world, this winter I plan on taping them up and maybe a layer of plastic.

But combined with 16' windows, there were stretches of days last winter in the 20 degree range were when sunny the furnace never ran. So there are some trade offs.