Tornado Proof House

It may be a faraway-seeming concept, to be sure, but what a beautiful design and brilliant idea this transforming tornado-proof underground house is. A combination of formal choices and built-in technologies recognize the awesome power of nature, and attempt to adapt to rather than defy environmental conditions on the ground (or in the sky).

Under heavy winds, hydraulic systems kick in that shift the normally-lofted home down to safety below.  As the residence drops underground, a waterproof roof layer slides into place to protect it. At each step, a series of sensors tell the home what conditions it needs to adapt to, and when it is safe to come back out.

High tech house concept

Tornado proof suburb

Photocatatlyic coatings and carbon nanotubes are built into the exterior skin to absorb toxins, pollutants and carbon dioxide while also powering the house itself. A kind of futuristic home-meets-bomb-shelter idea for all conditions and environments.

So while these may not hit the manufacturing floor anytime soon, how neat would it be to leave home knowing that if a natural disaster were on its way your flexible home would automatically transform to protect itself? Creative concept and incredible renderings by the architects of 10design.

An Erupting Stability

“Isn’t the Wizard of Oz a clear example of the awesome force that a tornado can muster? How can Jaws drive people out of the ocean screaming when a house blown through the sky brings back nostalgic memories? Please stay out of the water… but feel free to build your home below flood level and out of cards in the wind. There is an urgent need to shift from an outmoded logic, ignorant of the forces of nature, to a point where the unabashed rush for profit and development can be balanced against the basic goal of providing shelter. Humanity is inexplicably driven to build in places where it should not-accepting the unavoidability of this folly is the first step to breathing in a new vision. We sought a way of turning the seemingly destructive acts of nature into creative blooms.”

“Can we spin this violent ever present soup into a stabilizing direction? We seek a new mobility for the home that is controlled not left to “chance” (there is nothing accidental about 100 year old weather patterns). We are currently working on the development of a prototype with a group of ship builders in the US and Africa.”