17 Sep The Use of Entrance Canopies

Entrance canopies are used at the entrances to public buildings, or buildings that are available and are commonly used by members of the public. Examples of such buildings could be public libraries, hospitals, hotels, bars, local authority offices and large department stores. Entrance canopies are erected primarily to serve the purpose of providing temporary shelter from inclement weather for those entering or leaving the building. They may also provide an area where people can wait in some degree of comfort if there is a waiting queue of people.

There is no standard design for entrance canopies. They generally only need to be capable of protecting those underneath from rain, hail or sleet falling, and they are usually open on all sides, supported by legs that extend down from the canopy overhead. The canopy can be made of steel or wood, or more commonly, from clear toughened plastic. In the case of hotels, it is fairly common to see entrance canopies made from some fabric material, extended tightly over hooped metal supports, for example.

It is also usual and common for entrance canopies to have an architectural significance to the building is serves. Sometimes the entrance canopies are large and grand, and have been designed as an integral part of the building they extend from. In these cases the canopy is complementary to the building’s architecture, style and bearing, as well as serving a functional purpose. Entrance canopies generally only serve as an attractive frontage to the building and do not have an important supporting function.

Entrance canopies can be purchased off the shelf, so to speak. They can be of a design that is standard and designed to fit a majority of similar situations. These will generally be less expensive that bespoke entrance canopies where they have been designed specifically for the building in question. This type of canopy will require more thought and more designing time, and perhaps also more erection time. For this reason you can expect bespoke entrance canopies to be the more expensive option.

Entrance canopies are commonplace and found on all kinds of building in the UK. Usually they are found on buildings that are used, or are made available to the public. While they serve a mostly functional need, they are often designed to complement the building they are constructed on to. While there is little consistency to the design of entrance canopies, they can often be found in a barrel vault style with clear polycarbonate cladding.