Architects have been developing strategies to respond to natural and social crises; they’ve built Innovative and Inspiring Shelters for the Homeless and successfully created disaster proof homes! Home is the place where you feel comfy, making your morning cereal in pajamas. However, your comfort levels will skyrocket after knowing that you will stay safe in your home no matter what magnitude of earthquakes and floods strike your area. Here’s the good news: there are certain disaster-proof houses that offer this level of confidence.
We are about to expose you to 6 incredible disaster-proof homes that will keep you safe from a variety of natural and man-made disasters. Check them out!
List of Disaster Proof Homes
1. Tsunami House
Tsunami house is an eye-pleasing water-front property equipped with several safety features. It was Designs Northwest Architect who dared to make this residency in the high-velocity flood zone of Camano Island.
© Lucas Henning
The building footprint is reduced to 30’ x 30’ while the main floor level is 887 square feet, 5’ above the foundations. This lower 5-foot-high space has walls that can break away during a heavy storm, leaving the house standing on pilings. These house ‘legs’ can withstand super speedy tsunami waves with a ‘bring-it-on attitude.
Additionally, the house features low-maintenance and durable outer cladding done in steel and concrete. On the inside, you will live a cozy life in a warm ambient space created using red cedar. Isn’t this clearly the place where you should be living?
2. Disaster House
Gregg Fleishman designed this disaster-proof home with slotted plywood that can be assembled without any fasteners whatsoever. The building material contains fibers that have the following allowable stresses:
- Bending – 3600 psi
- Compression – 2500 psi
- Shear Stress – 100 psi
- Modulus of Elasticity – 2,200,000 psi
Courtesy of Gregg Fleishman
Just having strength is not enough though. The house needs to be flexible too, which is the case with this house due to its adaptability to several types of disasters including high magnitude earthquakes. It is further stabilized by a lower structural floor which is set on 4 pier points. All these measures result in a house that can always ensure your safety.
3. Orange Tiny House
Vagabond brings to us an orange tiny house that is a minimalist and yet a gorgeous place to reside in. Believe it or not, but the house is not on any city grid. It has its own off-grid everything. Everything meaning solar panel system, water supply, electricity supply, wood-burning stove, etc.
Courtesy of Vagabond
Not only is this house off-grid ready but it is also completely built-in natural healthy materials. The outer panels are glued together with an eco-friendly adhesive called ‘eco-bond’ which keeps the structure together in the worst-case scenarios.
The most interesting thing about this house is its orange tint. Is it purely aesthetic or does it have a purpose? The answer is, this color is an indirect result of a Japanese technique called ‘yakisugi’. It involves applying orangish cedar on the exterior which makes your house resistant to rot, pest, fire, and extreme weather. This method also provides natural wool insulation to the house.
The roof of the house is coated with the company’s signature metallic acrylic which makes it mad reflective. This, in turn, protects the interior from harmful sun rays and radiant heat. The roof is stuck to two rigid layers of insulation underneath which makes it both wind and vibration resistant.
4. Tornado Proof House
One of the coolest disaster-proof-home concepts we have for you is this tornado-proof house, devised by the firm 10 Design. The house has a mentality of a turtle; just like the turtle sneaks its vulnerable head into its shell during danger, the tornado-proof house digs itself into the ground when it senses speedy winds.
Courtesy of 10 Design
No, it does not drill a brand-new hole into the surface but rather there is already a sunken dock present for it to tuck into. Hydraulic levers move it up and down like an elevator. As soon as it senses any high-velocity winds, it gets triggered and collapses in seconds. Watch the motion here:
Furthermore, the house is clad in Kevlar and contains a series of solar cells on its skin. These solar cells can rotate and flex to gain maximum solar energy.
Another incredible characteristic of this kinetic architecture is its ability to attain fuel from air pollutants. So basically, the house gets two birds with one stone; it gains the energy to run itself while purifying the surrounding environment. The architects wish to replicate this prototype to form a whole community of tornado-proof structures in windy areas.
5. Russian Dome Home
Dome homes are not just visually delightful, but they exceed FEMA’s standards for providing near-complete protection. This is because the semi-spherical form allows for even load distribution which results in a tough home that can face anything! Russian Skydome’s dome home is a beautiful example. This curved-roof home is twice as lightweight, twice as strong, and twice as energy-efficient as a regular house.
Courtesy of Skydome
Completed in 95% natural and durable materials, the Russian Dome Home can take up to 700 kg of snow per square meter. The exterior cladding material is solid pinewood which is treated for protection against pests, mold, and fire.
Zero internal load-bearing walls permit absolute customization of the interior planning based on personal preferences. To be precise, this dome home can make it through earthquakes with a magnitude of 7 per the Richter scale.
6. Ophir
Ophir is a contemporary home for a family in New Zealand that lost its previous home in an earthquake. Architect’s Creative constructed it with raw steel, concrete, and timber, ensuring that no such tragedy happens again. The concrete walls extend outward at the edges and firmly anchor the house into the mountainous landscape around.
Courtesy of Charlotte Clements
The upper level, which is the main living floor, has black zinc sheathing to protect the concrete walls inside. On the other hand, the lower level is dedicated to the guests, and it is clad in cedar. The house honestly exposes its structural system i.e. the steel framing.
Moreover, the architects oriented the house to facilitate maximum solar energy and cross ventilation. It also has Eastern, Western and Northern terraces which offer protection from prevailing winds. By and large, this gorgeous disaster-proof home makes a calm, permanent, and secure the property for the family.