Hides, bolt holes, lairs, etc
Jul. 14th, 2022 04:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kengrOK, I've been thinking about the subject recently. I decided to start by defining some terms/types.
Hide: outdoors, provides concealment, but not cover. Think of a hunting blind, but designed to fool humans too.
????: like a hide, but also provides cover (ie stops weapons and other attacks to at least some extent. Foxholes, dugouts and improvised bunkers are good examples
Priest's hole: a "room" that provides concealment for one or two people. Intended to hide them from a non-destructive search. Think "hidden closet". Very much a temporary thing (hours, not days)
Panic room: Often concealed, but mainly intended to protect from a destructive search and from attacks of various sorts until help arrives.
Bolt holes are similar to panic rooms, but usually have a concealed entrance to something that takes you to a room(s) elsewhere.
Then we start getting into tornado cellars, bomb shelters, fallout shelters, bunkers and lairs.
In these you've got increasing levels of protection from various threats (sometimes specific threats only, other times from a variety of threats). You also have increasing occupancy times, and the need to accomadate multiple people.
Anybody see anything wrong here? Maybe a different way to break things down? Or categories I've overlooked?
Once we've refined this, thewn I can start to work on what things ae needed for the various types.
Hide: outdoors, provides concealment, but not cover. Think of a hunting blind, but designed to fool humans too.
????: like a hide, but also provides cover (ie stops weapons and other attacks to at least some extent. Foxholes, dugouts and improvised bunkers are good examples
Priest's hole: a "room" that provides concealment for one or two people. Intended to hide them from a non-destructive search. Think "hidden closet". Very much a temporary thing (hours, not days)
Panic room: Often concealed, but mainly intended to protect from a destructive search and from attacks of various sorts until help arrives.
Bolt holes are similar to panic rooms, but usually have a concealed entrance to something that takes you to a room(s) elsewhere.
Then we start getting into tornado cellars, bomb shelters, fallout shelters, bunkers and lairs.
In these you've got increasing levels of protection from various threats (sometimes specific threats only, other times from a variety of threats). You also have increasing occupancy times, and the need to accomadate multiple people.
Anybody see anything wrong here? Maybe a different way to break things down? Or categories I've overlooked?
Once we've refined this, thewn I can start to work on what things ae needed for the various types.
Well ...
Date: 2022-07-15 06:46 am (UTC)You might also look up monolithic domes, which are as close to earthquake-proof and hurricane-proof as humans can currently build. There are some amusing pictures of flattened neighborhoods with one dome left standing amidst rubble.
Re: Well ...
Date: 2022-07-24 10:03 am (UTC)Regarding dome construction, I recall an article from the 60s or early 70s that noted in some places the building code only let dome homes have 2 floors because of the slanting walls. So the second floor was ridiculously high ceilinged.
I've seen some SF illustrations that had buildings that were not domes but rather sections of spheres sliced at higher latitudes (ie instead of at the equator, at the 54th parallel or higher. Some very much higher.
Sort of a "blister" design if you will.
These strike me as good for some weather conditions. The shallower the angle with which the edge of the dome meets the ground, the less wind resistance there is (or the less wave resistance :-)
Not as space efficient, but not bad if you want a *large* floor. One I saw was some sort of spaceport facility with hangar doors around the edge. Which left the inside for large support areas and a *much* smaller second floor for something else.
Sections of oblate and prolate spheroids might have their uses as well.
Re: Well ...
Date: 2022-07-24 07:36 pm (UTC)That depends on what you want to use it for, and how long.
* The smallest shelters are meant for 1-2 people to huddle in during a storm. I think the storm porches are especially clever. These are often just barren lockers. I find this inadvisable, because emergencies are a lot worse without amenities. I recommend at least a camp toilet, an emergency-caliber first aid kit, nonperishable food and bottled water, and entertainment (books, cards, dice, etc.).
* The next step up is small shelters meant for several people to spend hours to a few days in, for example, hurricane shelters. These typically have bunk beds and a toilet, occasionally also a kitchenette.
* Medium shelters are designed for a family or other group to spend longer time in. They are basically tiny apartments with sleeping space, living space, kitchen, bathroom, and lots of storage for resources. One nice thing about a tube is that after you've built a flat floor in it, you can use the underfloor space for storage.
* Large shelters are designed for many people to spend a long time in. Some have individual modules like the above, while others put the sleeping and dining space together like dorms do. These shelters add extra facilities such as greenhouses, gyms, libraries, classrooms, clinics, arsenals, motor pools, etc. The more people it holds, the more it needs to resemble a buried village.
>>Regarding dome construction, I recall an article from the 60s or early 70s that noted in some places the building code only let dome homes have 2 floors because of the slanting walls. So the second floor was ridiculously high ceilinged.<<
Most building codes don't allow domes at all, or indeed, any type of alternative building. So most domes are built in places with loose or no codes.
It's less about the code than the nature of the dome itself. Curvature means the second story will always be much smaller than the first. Getting more than 2 stories is extremely difficult. It makes more sense to dig down, if you're in an area where a basement is feasible, or to build sideways for extra space.
It is possible to make dome-ish buildings taller by putting a straight wall at the bottom, so for instance you might make a 3-4 story apartment tower with a domed top. But that sacrifices durability.
>> These strike me as good for some weather conditions. The shallower the angle with which the edge of the dome meets the ground, the less wind resistance there is (or the less wave resistance :-)
Those exist. Very wide, flattened domes are often used for gymnasiums or warehouses, although they tend to have a low straight sidewall.
>>Sections of oblate and prolate spheroids might have their uses as well.<<
There are a few oval or ring-shaped dome homes. More common are those with 2-3 domes butted together for extra space, and they are nearly a durable as single domes.
This site has lots of plans for dome homes:
https://www.monolithic.org/homes/floorplans
They also offer domes for other uses:
https://www.monolithic.org/schools
https://www.monolithic.org/churches
https://www.monolithic.org/storages
https://www.monolithic.org/sports
https://www.monolithic.org/commercial
https://www.monolithic.org/ecoshells