Time and again, a calendar predicts the next probable date for an apocalypse; and time and again, that date passed without a hitch. With a pandemic and a war going on in tandem, though, the concept doesn’t seem all that far-fetched.
Waiting in the wings at the end of time are luxury bunkers, with one of the most renowned being the Survival Condo.
Tucked away at a secret location north of Wichita, Kansas, the shelter welcomes families hiding from the grasp of a world-ending disaster. In its former life, it served as a missile silo for the US government during the Cold War.
Its owner Larry Hall purchased the property in 2007 for US$300,000 and dedicated nearly US$20 million into making it a place of escape for as many as 12 families and their pets.
Between walls of up to nine feet thick and 15 stories underground, the self-sufficient facility runs on various water systems, power supplies, as well as hydroponic food and aquaponic farming equipment. There’s a volcano ash remover in the event of a volcanic eruption too.
Image via Survival Condo
It’s capable of sustaining 75 residents for five years. And when the coronavirus swept the world, builders of the Survival Condo armed it with “Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) air filtration [that] can filter out pathogens like COVID-19.”
“However, we cannot guarantee that you will not pick up the virus from direct or indirect contact with an infected person or object either before or after you arrive at our facility,” the website cautions.
While it’s all about keeping people alive, the condo doesn’t deny its occupants of luxuries like a swimming pool with a water slide, movie theater, library, gym, bar, dog park, rock climbing wall, arcade room, and more.
Image via Survival Condo
These privileges provide a touch of normalcy for residents who have been deprived of things like sunlight.
Image via Survival Condo
Speaking of sunlight, rooms are fitted with remote-controlled artificial windows that display fake scenery, given that the shelter is buried way underground. But they’re not just for ornamental purposes.
Image via Survival Condo
During a month-long stay at the bunker, Hall felt especially alone due to the less tangible cues of telling time. So he installed the LED windows to simulate the natural progression of day to night and help restore residents’ circadian rhythms.
Interestingly, a psychologist hired to make the bunker more comfortable persuaded its owners to build a supermarket, complete with shopping carts, to replace the dystopian “storerooms” drawn out on its blueprint. The space was to be like a “miniature Whole Foods,” Hall recounted in a statement via the , as the act of rummaging through cardboard boxes for rations would overwhelm people.
Bringing to mind the days of stockpiling during the pandemic, the toilets have a bidet system—like the sort in Japan—so there wouldn’t be a need for toilet paper, which take up too much storage space.
All this, of course, comes at a price. A half-floor unit will set you back US$1.5 million, while a full-floor apartment is priced at US$3 million and a 3,600-square-foot, two-story penthouse costs US$4.5 million.
Image via Survival Condo
The news outlet cited one apartment that mimics a log cabin and has its own artificial fireplace.
Hall emphasized in an interview with in 2019, pre-pandemic, that the bunker’s high operational costs come from “the caliber” of its infrastructure, rather than its opulence.
Residents also have to fork out an extra US$5,000 a month to pay for association fees, the notes. That’s evidently not an issue for the property’s clientele; as per Insider, every unit was snapped up even before construction for the condominium was complete.
When all is said and done, this is still a den for people fighting to survive. Hall revealed that the facility includes a .223 remote-controlled rifle that enables residents to wound—or perhaps even kill—intruders or nemeses like “a video game.” True enough, the control room connected to this rifle has a joystick.
For those who don’t believe in taking someone else’s life, the site can also unleash paintballs to warn enemies about what to expect if they get too near.
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http://www.designtaxi.com/news/418348/Luxury-Doomsday-Condo-Keeps-You-Comfy-Through-An-Apocalypse-For-3M/
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