Smoking shelters

Smoking shelters are separate, covered areas for smokers, located at office buildings, workplaces and public buildings. They effectively organise the space around a building and clearly reduce the nuisance of tobacco smoke experienced by other users of the site.

Very often additionally fitted with litter bins with ashtrays, which make it considerably easier to keep the designated area tidy. A structure that provides adequate ventilation, made of steel or steel combined with glass, helps reduce odour nuisance while still offering partial protection from wind and precipitation. Smoking shelters complete the four types of structure available in the shelters, smoking shelters, pergolas category.

Designating a smoking area in the form of a covered smoking shelter meets the growing expectations of employees and visitors to public buildings for clean air in the immediate vicinity of the entrance. Concentrating tobacco smoke in a single, clearly marked place reduces the nuisance for non-smokers moving around the building.

The structure of a smoking shelter, made of steel combined with glass or transparent polycarbonate, maintains adequate ventilation while providing partial protection from wind and precipitation. Open or perforated side panels prevent smoke from building up inside the structure, which would be unpleasant for the users of the area themselves.

Fitting a smoking shelter with a litter bin with ashtray makes it much easier to keep the area tidy. Without a designated place for cigarette ends, users tend to drop them directly on the ground around the structure, which creates additional cleaning costs and detracts from the appearance of the building entrance.

The location of a smoking shelter in relation to the building entrance is often subject to internal or local regulations on the minimum distance of smoking areas from entrances and windows, so it is advisable to agree the exact position of the structure with the facility manager before ordering a specific model.

The size of a smoking shelter is chosen according to the expected number of people using it at the same time. In busy office buildings, larger structures with several standing areas work well, while at smaller workplaces compact models for a few people at a time are often sufficient.

Smoking shelters are also a practical solution for managers of shopping centres and railway stations, where large numbers of people smoking in undesignated places would cause considerable nuisance. A separate, well-signposted area organises the movement of smokers without restricting the freedom of movement of other users of the facility.