Building openings construction manual
Windows vents exterior doors

edited by Jan Cremers

Building openings construction manual: A building envelope is a boundary between inside and out; it has

protective and regulatory functions and allows for the exchange of energy (solar radiation, heat), light and air.

This occurs mainly through openings as they regulate other interface functions such as access.

Building openings, windows and doors, let people inside see out and people outside see in, thereby becoming “backdrops” for human coexistence where inside and outside intersect. In this sense, they are of great social significance.

They both separate and connect the private and the public. Building openings define the transition from introverted to exposed, from warm to cold, from artificial to natural, from dark to light, from enclosed to open space.
Having a direct connection with the outdoors is important to a building’s users.

In Building openings construction manual Numerous studies have shown that users’ satisfaction with buildings is closely connected with the possibility of opening a window for fresh air.

Since most people now spend the best part of their day inside – in Central Europe about
80 – 90 % of it – building openings are becoming increasingly significant.

People need to be able to establish a link with the outside, with our original living space, with nature, even though for a growing number of people the outdoors is now an urban space, a largely artificial environment.