World Ending? Elite Apocalypse-Proof Underground Homes. Worried about the end of the world?
For those who can afford them, one company is creating subterranean housing complexes – modern-day super-bomb-shelters across the United States designed to survive any apocalyptic scenario yet imagined. Killer comets, pole shifts, super volcanoes, global tsunamis, extreme earthquakes, biological and nuclear war – each are scenarios supposedly covered in the design plans by Vivos of these luxury underground homes to be built in 120 locations in range of most major US cities. Of course, buyer beware: you have to arrive before lock-down to be let in – otherwise, you may be on your own outside of a thick steel bank-vault door. Secret locations, high elevations and remote installations are part of the project plan. On-site power and water wells make these sites energy-independent for long-term off-the-grid living.
So maybe it sounds extreme, and some of these disasters sound far-fetched, but to those with the spare funds to purchase one: why not? Fantasy Forest Tree House Straight out of a Kids Story Book. If this looks large to you, imagine how big it would seem to someone half your size or smaller.
Like some childrens picture-book come to life, this ‘Enchanted Forest‘ wooden tree house may look a bit kitsch to us as adults from a design perspective – but for kids it is one very cool combination of fairy tale magic and real-life adventure. Held up by a combination of wooden beams and actual tree trunks, a spiral staircase connects this series of interdependent levels to effectively create a single (narrative) structure out of a number of semi-autonomous rooms and floors along the way. Each platform affords places to play as well as increasingly interesting views of the surrounding treescapes.
Part of a larger theme park in the rural old-growth forests of British Columbia, this is part of a sizable fantasy-themed environment that blends natural wonders, wild animals and folklore classics both old and new in a kid-friendly resort setting. Human-Powered ‘Rolling Home’ Rotates as You Run Around. Spinning Solar-Powered Round House Rotates with the Sun. Imagine living in a cylindrical space that traced the path of the sun, giving you maximum access to daylight and using the extra energy from targeted solar panels to power the movements of your home as well as your lights, appliances and everything else.
A record-breaking and award-winning design on multiple fronts, this structure remains one of the first residential buildings to generate more energy than it uses – up to six times as much per year! Spinning slowly on a central axis, the Heliotrop House by German architect Rolf Disch rotates to catch maximum sunlight for the solar collectors and variably exposes different sides depending upon the season. It opens up for maximum passive heating potential during the winter, and exposes a more insulated side for less heat gain during the summer.
Since the original was constructed, two more models have followed – and Disch has a design in mind for yet another (much larger) version that would work as a multi-unit hotel.