Stop the Design Disconnect: Make Your Door Entry Panel Part of the Interior
In most projects, door entry is only thought about at the level of schematics and specifications. On the drawings, neat symbols appear; in the schedule you see the model, quantity and a line that simply says “grey/black”. Then a high-end residential complex or office with a carefully designed interior is built for serious money, and on every floor, at every flat or office door, in each corridor, dozens of identical door entry panels appear that in no way support the original design concept of the project.
BAS-IP AV-04 is precisely about making sure this “small detail” stops being a grey dot on the plan and becomes part of the design of corridors, lobbies and back-of-house areas.
The panel as part of the interior
AV-04 is a compact IP door entry panel installed at the entrance to a specific space: a flat, an office, a meeting room, a staff room or a technical room. It is often the very first element a person notices before entering.
By default, most such panels look very similar: cold metal, a standard colour (silver or black), a neutral texture. In corridors this turns into an endless row of identical “plaques”. At the same time, the doors themselves, the handles, numbers and light fittings are often carefully selected by the designer.
Customising the AV-04 allows the panel to stop breaking this logic and instead become a natural part of it.
Colour, material, texture: for your project, not for the catalogue
The AV-04 housing is metal and vandal-resistant, but that does not mean it has to be like all the others – one of two or three standard colours from a catalogue.
This panel can be adapted to the style and concept of the building:
- Color—matched to the RAL palette, the shade of the doors, architraves, metalwork or the project’s brand colours. Whether it is a business centre corridor with dark doors and brass handles, or a light residential floor with warm wall panels, the AV-04 can “belong” in each of these scenarios.
- Texture – matt, satin, brushed surfaces, visually “warmer” or deliberately high-tech. This is particularly important where clients and residents walk along the corridor, not just staff.
- Visual character of the material – from strict high-tech to a calmer, more “domestic” finish for family-oriented residential schemes.
Already have visualisations of floors or corridors? Share them with your BAS-IP partner or send them directly to us and you’ll receive proposals for AV-04 colours and finishes tailored to your design before you even place an equipment order.
Individual markings: navigation, status and order
The second option for AV-04 is to add markings directly onto the panel housing. Not with stickers and improvised plaques, but using factory processes:
- laser engraving – precise, high-contrast text and pictograms, ideal for clean typefaces and logos;
- milling – raised, tactile markings that are easy to read both visually and by touch.
What can be applied:
- Flat or office number in a large, legible typeface so people don’t have to look for a separate number plate on the door;
- Name or type of room: MEETING ROOM A, SECURITY, SERVICE, CLEANING, IT ROOM, and so on;
- Developer’s, managing agent’s or key tenant’s logo, if floor branding matters;
- Simple pictograms next to the text: a flat/house icon, a briefcase (office), a trolley/box (deliveries), a bell (call), a wheelchair symbol (accessible entrance), arrows, etc.
For a residential building this means neat, long-lasting numbers at each flat without extra plaques and stickers. For a business centre it’s a way to keep floors visually consistent even when tenants change. For corridors with a lot of back-of-house rooms it is a chance to bring order to the door markings from day one.
If you are already planning wayfinding in your corridors and staff areas, build part of that directly into the AV-04. Put together a list of labels and pictograms and send it to us so we can prepare a panel layout for your project.
Who needs this – and why
Developer
Every flat or office door is a touchpoint with the building’s brand. Custom panels reinforce the feeling of a premium development without pushing up the overall project cost. This is a detail that shapes how the project is perceived in real life and in marketing photography, not something that exists only in engineering documentation.
Architect and interior designer
There is no longer any need to “turn a blind eye” to a door entry panel that visually clashes with the door and finishes. The colour and texture of the AV-04 are chosen to match the concept, not the other way round. Corridors and floors look coherent, without random technical elements breaking the picture.
Integrator and systems installer
This is a strong argument in a tender and in face-to-face discussions with the client: you are offering not just “a door entry system”, but a solution that fits the interior. Quite often it is the custom panels that become the deciding factor that tips the balance in your favour.
At the same time, the AV-04’s electronics, protection level, functionality and integrations remain standard – only the appearance and markings change.
How it works in practice
The process is straightforward:
- Project
You send in the floor plans or corridor renderings, a description of the doors, the desired colour palette and a list of markings (numbers, room types, logos). - Proposal
BAS-IP selects colour and texture options, chooses the method for applying markings and prepares a visual mock-up of the AV-04 for your scheme. - Approval and production
Once the design is approved, a batch of panels is manufactured that are visually and technically ready to be installed at the specified doors.
Customisation can be embedded both at the new-build stage and during refurbishment of existing corridors, when the door entry infrastructure is already in place but the visual component clearly needs updating.
If you already have a current or upcoming project where standard panels look “out of place” at flat and office doors, capture that in the specification now. Contact BAS-IP through your distributor or directly so that customised AV-04 panels are included in the spec before the final equipment list is signed off.
The choice is yours: standard panel or a solution tailored to your design
In the end the decision is simple. You can leave a run of identical standard panels in your corridors – the kind that could belong to almost any other block of flats or business centre. Or you can ensure that every panel at a flat, office or staff room door continues the architectural language and visual code of the building.
The AV-04 already delivers security and convenient communication. Custom colour, finish and markings turn it from a “mandatory technical device” into a fully fledged design element on each storey.
If you tell your client you are delivering a “unique building”, it makes sense for that to be visible in the details as well. Don’t limit yourself to grey and black by default: ask BAS-IP for AV-04 options tailored to your specific project and see how different the very same corridors can look.