Archive for November 13th, 2011
1 item.
If you’ve been reading my blog from the start, thank you. You might also remember an article I wrote back in June about a zombie proof home. Admittedly, this was amazing, but some of us want more variety in their domain. Not to mention you’re probably going to have a group of people, or a colony hopefully as that would be best suited for long term survival, so one dinky house might not do it for you.
So I came across the 2011 Zombie Safe House Competition. Gods bless the paranoid architects! This thing is really cool. You want to talk about survival plans? Blog, chat, or comment your survival plans all you want, these designers are the ultimate in zombie planning, and they had to be to get past the judges. Names like Max Brooks (Zombie survival guide, World War Z, do I have to even explain at this point?), Ryan Riter (Founder and Artistic Director of ZomBcon International), Simon Clark, (Author of Blood Crazy), as well as various award winning designers and architects, would not make this easy, and thus give the winner ultimate bragging rights.
Of course I can’t comment on each entry as I don’t have enough room for all of that, however I’ll go over my thoughts of the top few designs. Also some enteries have more than one design page. I suggest that you visit the Competition website for more information on the designs. Keep in mind that there is a comments section for every entry site, so if there are concerns mentioned there, I will not be mentioning them here.
Vagabond Mobile Safehouse Device
This may be your only chance to become a ninja turtle.
What more can you say than shear brilliance? The number one problem with most survival plans are getting from point A to point B without becoming Zombie Alpo. So many people desperately want one of these. Hell, I wish it were on the market now. Expensive as hell I would say it would be. Your talking several thousand dollars for the technology being implemented. Screw my new computer; I’m getting one of these. The great thing about this is it’s already close to being out on the market. The creator, Austin Fleming, is using concepts that already exist but just have to find the right investor to put it all together so it’s available to the general public. I do wish judges notes were available on the website, but as they are not I do have some questions slash criticisms.
1st: Photovoltaic cells sound expensive. Not a problem as the competition said cost was not issue. However, what happens if these cells get damaged during travel? Will it supply the same protection? You could live without your cell phone, and the tornado employed looks like that doesn’t need electricity to supply the fresh air, but your heat for cold weather might be a problem without those cells in working order. My suggestion for this is to address it by having the cellular interior shell be lined with thermal insulation. Will keep you warm as it will trap in body heat.
2nd: What about waists? You’re going to need to pee. Where does it go? I realize that this is supposed to be a temporary portable shelter, much like a tent, however there will be situations where prolonged enclosure may be necessary. A simple funnel to the outside would not have provided less protection and would solve this issue. Of course you then want to make sure that you face the funnel side of the enclosure downhill as otherwise the waste may leak back under it.
Oil Silo Home
You too can live in a disco ball!
Yet another brilliant idea. This idea incorporates reusing oil silos by renovating them for the zombie apocalypse. The self sustaining structure is brilliant in that not only will it protect from the zombies, but as oil silos are used all over the world, it is proven that they are already built to protect from natural disaster. Although a project like this would be expensive to renovate and rig up, it would be much cheaper than the safe house posted I posted in June. In the comment section the designer re-posted the words from the graphic in the comments section so that everyone could read it. I do have a few questions/concerns.
1st: Almost perfect design to protect against zombies as they can’t climb, but what about human invasion. Someone looking for a safe place to stay may decide to make this place their home and eject you. So where is your plan to prevent that? That’s not what this competition was about but it’s a very real problem in the apocalyptic world.
2nd: This plan would take lots of time and resources in order to make it viable. It would be something that must be started before the apocalypse. Unlike the above entry which can be marketed as a tent and on sale before the apocalypse, the amount of foresight would be incredible in order to get something like this completed. This doesn’t make it impossible, just very difficult to pull off.
Look Out House
A beautiful view to death and mayhem!
This is my favorite idea so far. To me this plan has everything you need for a safe house. It’s off the ground, it has access to fresh water from both the river and from rain water, and has a fireplace to purify that water, provide comfort and cook food (if necessary). I love the waterway getaway that is provided under the house. The garden is a great way to keep your food supply fresh and again irrigation will not be a problem due to the river it’s by. It’s off the grid, it’s out of the way, and it would have views to take your mind off the horror. Its location will guarantee you won’t see much zombie action as it’s in a set of cliffs. It defiantly deserves to be in the top of the entries. My only criticism for this one would be where is the storage? I see cupboard where you keep the weapons, and I must say that’s a very smart use of space, but what about food? Medical supplies? This house is small enough to be expanded. My recommendation is to add a second story. Much more storage available then and you can add a third bedroom. If you’re going to go through the expense of making something such as this, you might as well go whole hog and build a second story. It actually wouldn’t cost that much more as most as the largest cost of building a house is the roof and the slab, and as adding a second story doesn’t increase the size of either of these two, so your cost will be limited.
Want more ideas for your safe house? Make sure to check out the competition website for more safe house designs. And let me know what you think about the blog. Agree or disagree with my criticisms? Comment below or email me at penguinprince@grimcrew.com. You can also follow Grim Crew on Facebook! Want more from me? Feel free to follow me on Twitter and Google +!
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