Open at the front, controlled behind it.

The public side has to be genuinely open. No credential, no friction, and usable by everyone who has a right to be there — which in practice means the main entrance sits on the accessible route and is specified to NZS 4121, with operator settings that suit the slowest person likely to use it rather than the average one.

The staff side has to be genuinely closed. Behind the counter, the service desk or the public gallery there is a boundary, and it needs to be enforced by hardware rather than by goodwill. Speed gates handle the volume where staff move constantly; an interlocked portal is what you use where a single-occupancy guarantee actually matters.

Some buildings — courts in particular — also need people screened on the way in. That changes the entrance layout more than people expect: a screening position needs queuing space in front of it and clear space behind it, and if the entrance wasn't planned around that, the queue ends up outside in the weather.

Public-sector asset owners also have to be able to evidence all of it. Commissioning records, compliance schedule entries, IQP sign-off and Building Warrant of Fitness documentation aren't paperwork at handover — they're the thing an auditor asks for three years later.