Glass Aluminum Doors in Toronto: A New Secure West Entrance and Vestibule for Temple Sinai Congregation

Temple Sinai Congregation in Toronto rebuilt its west entrance as part of a set of security alterations. The new entrance is all glass and aluminum, built into new openings: a curtain wall and entrance doors on the outside, and a glazed vestibule inside. Sonterlan Corporation was the general contractor, and Canuck supplied and installed the glazing, the doors and the operators.

We were awarded the work on May 30, 2023, and it was completed in January 2025. A long time for one entrance, and the reason is the way the work had to be sequenced, covered below.

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What went in

The vestibule is the heart of a secure entrance. It is a glazed space between the outer doors and the inner doors: visitors come through the first set, and the second set controls who goes further. Both layers here use the same custom grey finish and the same medium stile doors, so the entrance reads as one design inside and out.

The glass is laminated tempered. Tempered glass is strong and breaks into small pieces. Laminated glass has a layer bonded between two sheets, so if it breaks it stays in the frame instead of falling out. For an entrance built for security, that combination is the right one.

The Besam SW200i operators open the doors automatically, so the entrance is barrier-free for anyone who cannot push a door.

Why it took from 2023 to 2025

Each trade on this job depended on the one before it finishing. The glazing could only go in when the openings, the structure and the finishes around them were ready, and each stage went through revisions.

This was not a replacement. Every system went into new openings, created as part of the alterations. That meant the glass and aluminum came near the end of a chain of trades, and it could not be installed until everything before it was complete.

The project also went through several iterations and adjustments before the final design was reached. Each change to an opening meant a change to the frames, the doors and the glass drawn for it. It needed a high level of attention to detail at every step, and we stayed on the job until it was finished to the congregation's satisfaction.

Questions this job answers

What is a security vestibule?

A vestibule is an enclosed space between two sets of doors. In a security entrance, visitors pass through the outer doors first, and the inner doors control who goes further into the building. On this job both layers are glass and aluminum, so the space stays open and bright.

Why use laminated tempered glass in an entrance?

Tempered glass is strong. Laminated glass holds together if it breaks, because of the layer bonded between the sheets. Together they give an entrance glass that is hard to break and stays in place if it does, which is why it suits entrances built for security.

What are medium stile doors?

The stile is the vertical rail of a door leaf. Medium stile doors sit between narrow stile doors, which look lighter, and wide stile doors, which are the heaviest-duty. This job used 350 series medium stile doors on both the exterior and the vestibule.

Can automatic operators be added to a secure entrance?

Yes. On this job Besam SW200i operators make the entrance barrier-free, while the doors themselves stay part of the secure design.

Where this sits

This was glass aluminum door and curtain wall work, with barrier-free operators, at a synagogue in Toronto. For the same work on your own building, start with the commercial glass doors in Toronto page.