assuming its a US project.

sad to say.......i wont say it but...... sss sss ok!! wont say it CHOCOLATE!

when you do this bits in the condos, you are best to first speak to your local post office and get the requirements. the post office will not deliver mail [or at least it will tell you so] to any non-approved USPS system. they have some responsibility to deliver and secure control where they drop the mail before you have a chance to get it, and they need certain controls of access to load the system. if you have a full time concierge, the conditions may very but most likely, not. they got you by the balls, no ticky not laundry.


i have utilied the standard so called boxes in the highest end condo in shitcago and utilized a wood finish applied to them that matched the wood paneling--really understood them before starting the project. the boxes were rear loaded whcih required a room but we had a full time concierge and needed a package room anyway. the rear loading were simplier.

the next project i did, a bit mid-high end just used the best stainless system i could find. in both cases, the mail boxes were planned in some way as an alcove off the main lobby with a purse/bag shelf.
and dont forget our friend 'mr. ada'. hee hee.

I am working on this same issue right now. (10 units in NY). I am wondering if anyone has any recomendations on a good USPS approved Manufacturer. We have spec'd an approved mailbox system but it is a little weak in our lobby. Is there anything out there that is more thought out. I am looking for something that could stand as an object within the space. I do appreciate Ted's input into this I am just wondering if there is anything else out there. I was at Borneo/Sporenburg in Amsterdam over the summer. The mailboxes were a prominent design element in some of the multiple unit buildings. I am a bit frustrated with the fact that we seem to get so tied down in beurocratic regulations in the US.

why does a module element create a problem?

you could do 10 different sizes, colors, pglass doors -really endless combos. a freestanding thing? what made the dutch project so good? where the detailing in the systems is wank for certain. strip it of its basic bits, get rid of the groovy edge frames and aliike. the USPS is most interested in box size, door hardware, mounting hieght, and control. those nice fancy bits the chocolate guys offer dont impress the local carrier.

if you dont have space etc in the entry to do a freestanding, thats another story.

my projects were both from mid 80;s and 90s and were heavily concieved [not by me] with neo-traditionalist crap that most safe developers wanted at that time with traditional wood paneling [so nice!]

Ted Thanks - The Module element isn't really a problem. I was working on a frame system to support the entire cluster. I started to think that there must be something out there that is simple, clean and free-standing. (no neo-traditional details - though I have been there and feel your pain)

The Dutch project (A bit different than what we are working on was accessed from the exterior (by the residents) It was a cluster but it was a very clean set up. The Entire cluster penetrated a sheet of glass that seperated the lobby from the outside.