The lobby is the primary point where visitors and other members of the public enter your facility. As such, it is one of the most critical areas to design properly from a security standpoint. Having a poorly designed lobby makes it difficult to properly control access into the building, requiring that additional security measures be provided at the interior of the building. A poorly designed lobby can also increase operational costs by requiring that additional staff be provided to overcome the security weaknesses created by the lobby.

 

Many lobbies are designed primarily with aesthetics and convenience in mind, with little or no thought given to security. Often times this is because the architect and owner lacked an understanding of basic security concepts, or failed to consider security at all during the architectural planning process.

 

It is our opinion that a lobby can be designed to look good while at the same time providing excellent security. Within this article, we will provide some guidelines that can help you to successfully plan your building lobby.

 

Basic Concepts

 

Before getting into specifics, let's talk about some basic concepts when designing a lobby for good security.

 

At the exterior of the building, you typically have an unsecured, public area, such as a public street or parking lot. Usually, any member of the general public can freely enter this area without permission. We refer to this area as the "Public Zone". On the interior of the building, you typically have a secured private area, which may contain offices, production facilities, and other spaces related to your business. Usually only employees and invited guests may enter this area. We refer to this area as the "Private Zone".

 

The building lobby acts as a "portal" or "conduit" between the Public Zone and the Private Zone. The lobby also provides an area where members of the public can transact business with the company without entering the Private Zone. Because of this, we refer to the lobby area as the "Semi-Public Zone". One security layer exists at the point between the Public Zone and the Semi-Public Zone, and a second security layer exists at the point between the Semi-Public Zone and the Private Zone. This concept is illustrated in the drawing below. (To learn more about security layers, see Concentric Circles of Protection.)

During normal working hours, the exterior doors of the lobby are typically left unlocked. This allows people to enter the lobby (Semi-Public Zone) to interact with the receptionist. In cases where the person has legitimate business with the company, he or she will be signed-in as a visitor, and allowed to proceed into the Private Zone. Depending on company policy, the visitor may or may not need to be escorted by an employee while in the Private Zone.

 

If a person arrives, but does not have legitimate business with the company, he or she will be turned away by the receptionist and denied access to the Private Zone.  Physical barriers should be provided should be provided that prevent people from passing between the Semi-Public Zone and Private Zone without permission. These barriers should be designed in such a way that they make it difficult for an unwanted guest to force his way past the receptionist or to sneak past the receptionist unnoticed.

 

In cases where the lobby is also used as an entrance by employees, a system needs to be provided that allows authorized employees to pass through the barrier into the Private Zone, while at the same time keeping unauthorized people out.

 

Problems in Lobby Design

 

While the basic concepts for lobby security are simple, many problems can occur that prevent these concepts from being successfully implemented in an actual building. The drawing below shows some common security weaknesses that often exist in commercial building lobbies.

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