What makes a commercial building truly resilient? Resilient commercial design means creating spaces that can adapt to change, bounce back after disruptions, and keep people safe and comfortable. For business owners, developers, and architects, that means designing spaces that look good, work well, and can handle things like extreme weather, energy challenges, and changing needs over time.
Whether you’re building a new hotel, updating a restaurant, or renovating a school or office, resilience is becoming a smart, long-term priority. Durable solutions, like movable glass doors, can help by adding flexibility, improving performance, and keeping spaces ready for whatever comes next.
What Is Resilient Commercial Design and Why Does It Matter?
According to the AIA CA Resilience Design Committee:
“Resilient Design is planning and designing our built environment to sustain probable impact from progressive climate change and episodic natural disasters.”
In other words, resilient commercial design is about preparing buildings to handle both long-term challenges like rising temperatures and energy costs, and sudden disruptions, such as storms, wildfires, or power outages. It’s about being prepared for these events and being able to recover quickly. For business owners, this means less downtime, more operational continuity, and greater confidence that your investment is protected. In many cases, resilience helps ensure ROI by reducing costs, maintaining revenue streams, and keeping doors open when it matters more.
What are the Key Elements of Resilient Commercial Architecture?
Resilient commercial design starts with smart choices. Here are a few key elements that can help buildings stand strong and adapt over time:
- Structural Integrity: This, including superior load-bearing strength, ensures a building and its materials can support themselves and withstand external forces such as building fluctuations, high winds, and even floods.
- Long-Lasting Materials: Durable, low-maintenance materials reduce wear over time, withstand erosion from the elements, and extend the life of a building, all while lowering long-term repair costs and environmental impact.
- Climate Responsiveness: Designs that adapt to local climate conditions, like sun angles, wind patterns, and rain, are ideal. They optimize energy use, enhance occupant comfort, and reduce reliance on artificial, electrical systems.
- Energy Efficiency: Efficient technologies like glazing and HVAC systems, and passive design strategies like natural ventilation and daylight, minimize energy use, lower operational costs, and reduce environmental impact.
- Back-Up Systems and Flexibility: Built-in systems like emergency power generators, water storage, and adaptable interior layouts ensure continued operations during disruptions like power outages and evacuations.
How NanaWall Glass Systems Support Resilient Commercial Design
Independently tested in certified and accredited laboratories for air, water, structural, operation, and forced entry, NanaWall movable glass doors offer commercial-grade durability across a wide range of environments. For high-traffic areas, integrated swing doors with kickplates, panic hardware, and ADA-compliant floor tracks provide everyday functionality and emergency egress. Other key benefits that support resilient commercial design are:
- Structural Strength: NanaWall movable glass doors are engineered for durability and high-performance, offering exceptional windload resistance, impact-rated options for hurricane zones, and structural integrity. Systems like the NW Reinforced 847 are engineered to meet higher windload requirements with a DP rating of +/- 85 psf and CW55 rating.
- Reliable Cycle Testing: NanaWall folding systems have been cycle tested for up to 20,000 cycles for effortless operation every single time. Meanwhile, swing doors have undergone up to 500,000 cycles with excellent results.
- Energy-Efficient Glazing: Featuring thermal breaks, double or triple glazing options, and low-E coatings, NanaWall systems enhance insulation and reduce thermal transfer, supporting passive heating and cooling strategies in the process.
- Durable, Long-Lasting Materials: Built with high-quality aluminum, sustainably harvested, and stainless steel components, NanaWall commercial glass doors offer long-lasting durability and low-maintenance, reducing repair costs in the long run.
- Flexibility and Adaptability: In spaces like restaurants, retail, education, or healthcare, NanaWall systems support adaptive spatial configurations for controlling traffic, creating temporary enclosures, or providing fresh air and light during emergencies like power outages.
A Look at Real-Life Resilient Commercial Design with Movable Glass Doors
Reinforced Design at PENN 2’s Rooftop Restaurant
When Penn District’s iconic PENN 2 building underwent a revitalization, the multi-use building transformed its rooftop into a groundbreaking rooftop park on its 32nd floor. The 17,000 SF destination features an outdoor pavilion with an inviting restaurant and bar called “The Perch.” The restaurant opens to stunning views of the New York skyline with a 13-foot-tall NanaWall minimal sliding glass door.
Given the harsh rooftop environment, the system was specified with reinforced panels for added strength and windload performance, and the Performance Sill for optimal protection against the elements for years to come.
Weathering Seaside Wear and Tear at Meat on Ocean
Located on the world-famous Ocean Avenue and just a few steps from the Pacific Ocean, Meat on Ocean offers a distinctive dining experience that pairs a breezy seaside atmosphere with an appetizing all-about-meat menu. Key to its design was incorporating durable building materials that could endure the coastal environment.
To achieve this, the business owners implemented a 68-foot-wide NanaWall stacking glass door that instantly transformed the space into an open-air restaurant. The system was paired with a convenient swing door with a commercial-grade kickplate and panic hardware, as well as ADA-compliant floor sockets for seamless indoor-outdoor transitions.
Impact-Rated Doors at NY Friends School
Impact-rated doors are not only ideal for hurricane zones. At Friends Seminary, an impact-rated bifold glass door creates a strong, durable barrier between the courtyard and multi-purpose Great Room. The system’s impact-safe attributes withstand the shocks from rogue sports balls, ensuring students remain safe and classes go undisrupted.
A specified swing door, higher kickplates, panic hardware, and acoustic attenuation of up to unit STC 42 allow play on one side of the wall and distraction-free learning on the inside. Plus, with double-glazed panels, the bifold system ensures year-round student comfort regardless of what the weather may offer.
Final Thoughts
How can I make my business truly resilient? It all starts with designing spaces that are durable, adaptable, and ready for the unexpected. These spaces protect your investment, support daily operations, and contribute to a comfortable occupant experience—whether that be patrons at a restaurant or students at a school.
NanaWall movable glass doors offer a high-performance solution built to withstand tough environments and the daily wear and tear of business operations. Whether it’s improving energy efficiency, weathering environmental extremes, or offering layout flexibility when you need it most, these systems align with the core principles of resilient commercial design. In an ever-changing world, building for resilience has never been more essential.
Discover how other resilient commercial spaces leverage NanaWall opening glass doors in our inspiring project gallery!
