Bulletproofing Lobbies AND Reception Areas: From Vestibules to a Security Reception Desk
It's more important than ever to ensure the safety of employees working in high-traffic areas within buildings. Fortunately, a secure reception area can be customized to offer the best possible security while still creating a warm, welcoming environment. You need this space to reflect your aesthetic preferences and functional requirements, plus operate as your first line of defense against potential violence or theft. Customized solutions help you make your reception area secure while maintaining a modern, inviting look for everyone who enters your building.
Secure Your Lobby With Bulletproof Products
What a completely secure reception area should look like depends on your business, your threat level, and your operational needs. While secure entryways and vestibules may work great for companies that admit employees and guests one at a time, larger office buildings, municipal centers, and medical facilities may rely on reception desks and spacious lobbies to accommodate the flow of people throughout the day.
Our custom reception solutions can include freestanding ballistic desks, counters, and windows, along with accessories that help you perform important daily functions. When you work with our custom designs team to upgrade your lobby security, you’ll receive answers to questions like:
- How will each employee who works in this area be protected in the case of an attack or attempted theft?
- What solutions will help employees safely complete essential tasks each day while maintaining a culture of safety at work?
- Which barriers and additional safety measures will work best together to prevent harm during a potential attempted attack?
Hear Business Leaders Share Their Successful Entrance Security Projects
Take a look at these projects that included bulletproof security for entryways, lobbies, and front desks.
This municipal office needed their lobby retrofitted with modernized, effective bulletproof security to protect front desk employees. Watch to hear how the TSS team designed and retrofitted a new ballistic barrier system in this space, including transaction windows with ideal voice transmission.
See how TSS was able to create custom windows and package passers for this snack food company’s lobby area, solving their security issues and creating a safer environment for their employees and customers.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why is securing the reception area so important?
Reception staff are often the first people an intruder encounters. On most days, they’re simply helping visitors and directing deliveries—but in the event of a crisis, they become the first line of defense. Securing this space helps protect people working at the front desk, but also everyone in the building.
How does a secure reception area help delay a workplace violence incident?
A well-designed reception barrier forces an attacker to slow down, breaking their momentum. Every second of delay gives staff time to escape or shelter, and law enforcement more time to respond. It can mean the difference between containment and catastrophe.
What’s the difference between a secure vestibule and a reception barrier?
A reception barrier protects staff inside the lobby. A secure vestibule goes further by controlling who gets into the lobby at all. It's a two-door entry system—often with an access-controlled interior door and a transaction window—used to vet visitors before they enter the main building. This layered security approach is common in facilities with higher threat concerns or more foot traffic.
Can a curved security reception desk be made bullet-resistant?
Yes, but it’s a highly specialized project. Curved, multi-level reception desks present design and fabrication challenges that require expert engineering. TSS has experience creating ballistic barriers that follow custom contours while preserving visibility and maintaining an inviting look.
Will adding ballistic fiberglass make a reception desk look bulky or industrial?
Not at all. TSS fabricates secure reception desks that are both aesthetically aligned with your space and functionally secure. Reinforcement is fully integrated behind the finished surface, so it’s invisible to visitors but critical in a crisis.