The commission
The lobby space has doors that open directly to the street and no climate control finesse to speak of — humidity there swings harder than in almost any interior application we build for. Teak was the direct answer: its natural oil content keeps its published shrinkage figures among the lowest of any species in our library, and those same oils make it naturally resistant to the moisture cycling that would eventually loosen joinery in a less stable species.
Doors are solid teak slabs rather than veneered panels, chosen deliberately so the piece could be lightly sanded and re-oiled in place after years of lobby traffic without exposing a substrate.