Both folding interior doors and bi-folding exterior doors have a long history of designs for living areas. You may be surprised to learn of ancient similarities of this folding door system -a video of folding patio doors in Riverside, CA-to early historical folding door designs. (FYI, the folding patio doors in this video are wide, spanning an area of 32 feet in length!).
But take a few minutes to read about these these historical facts of folding doors, and fold-and-pivot doors:
Folding Doors in Bible Times
Folding doors were first mentioned in the Bible in the first Temple of Solomon, built in 1026 B.C..
The doors to the temple were immense. Each folding door measured 23 feet wide by 80 feet high-those were incredible dimensions! But, when you consider the entire temple was valued (at current values of gold, silver, metals and wood) at $50 billion in materials, size and cost was not an issue!
There were two doors to the temple, and each door had two swinging leaves that turned on pivots, to help cover the huge span area. These doors were constructed from juniper wood, and overlaid in gold.
The original temple was destroyed by Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II in 607 B.C. Later around 515 B.C., these folding doors were rebuilt during the rule of Cyrus of Persia. But, according to historical findings, these second set of folding doors were not quite to the dimensions of the original temple doors.
Folding Doors During the Roman Empire
Doors in Domestic Spaces at Pompeii
Folding doors was found in the ruins of Pompeii, which was destroyed by a volcano and buried in lava in 79 BC.
On a trip to the ruins of Pompeii in 2018, we took many pictures, some of which are included below.
Notice this one, of a wide span entranceway, and folding doors as part of the home’s design and function.
Excavations in Pompeii have revealed that folding doors were an architectural design in family living spaces.
Peter Connolly writes (in his book ‘Pompeii’) that the Romans ‘disliked single-leaf doors and wherever possible, both inside and out, they used double or even folding doors’.
Our tour guide explained that there were essentially two types of internal doorways in Pompeii homes:
- Wide, square doorways, most often appearing in rooms traditionally connected to dining or display areas, and;
- Narrow, rectangular doorways, which were entrances to kitchens, bathrooms, cubicles and store rooms.
Wide doorways were constructed with either three or four leaved folding doors.
If the opening was particularly large, two sets of leaves would be used (as was designed in the Temple of Solomon), each folding against a door jamb.
These Roman style folding doors opened and closed on pivots connected to the top and bottom of the door leaves. These pivots were inserted into bronze turning posts.
Folding doors were also mentioned in the first century B.C., as being in Rome at the hall of Eumachia (the Public Priestess of Venus). She may have been inspired from her time living in Pompeii, while marrying into one of the more powerful families in Pompeii.
Folding Doors in the 19th Century
In the 1800’s, closets became more common in homes. So, the classic use of folding doors was for closets. And, it still may be the most popular use of bifold doors today.
Current Use of Folding Doors
Folding doors are now again popular as they were in the architecture at Pompeii-for domestic use in narrow and large doorways.
The bifold doors from the 1800’s are still designed in the 21st century for narrow doorways, closets, and openings. And-bringing back the folding doors of Biblical and Roman times-there are designed folding doors, slide and fold doors, slide and pivot doors. These are designed for wide span doorways:
-Modern folding exterior doors merge indoor with outdoor living spaces.
-Interior folding doors become collapsible glass walls, to expand the use of several rooms in seamless continuity.
Either for exterior or interior locations, folding doors can enhance the decor and functions of moving through these collapsible doors.
Since the design and architecture of living areas has a long, rich history, it makes sense that bi-folding doors would be included in that long history.
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from TGroup. Open up your spaces, and blend both your indoor and outdoor home areas with these folding exterior doors. See more examples in our online gallery of folding doors
for ideas on enhancing your living areas. Or, call us at 760.806.6830 to discuss your folding glass doors project. Get ideas from our 10 plus years of installing folding doors to fit your indoor/outdoor floor plans, Consult with us, and benefit from our history and expertise to help you select the design and style to perfectly fit your needs.
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