Prototype Models - The Indestructible House
CONCEPT
The idea behind Proto-Teck's INDESTRUCTIBLE HOUSE is to protect not only the home occupants--but the structure itself--from the forces of a natural disaster such as a hurricane, tornado, fire, dust storm, tsunami, or hail storm. Clearly no structure can be truly indestructible, but this new design is a major leap forward in disaster-resistant homes.
DESCRIPTION
The "INDESTRUCTIBLE HOUSE" is in reality a houseboat floating in a large buried concrete silo filled with water. Earth excavated to bury the silo would be back-filled around the upper 1/3 of the silo, forming a berm. The house structure is constructed on a waterproof concrete cylinder, called a barge. The barge will also be a basement for storage and equipment, such as a electric generator in case of a power failure.
When the occupants of the INDESTRUCTIBLE HOUSE feel threatened by an oncoming event such as a hurricane, they will active a switch inside the house which will begin pumping water out of the concrete silo, and into large storage tanks buried nearby. As the water level drops, the house slips inside the protective walls of the concrete silo until the roof locks into the concrete curbing at the top of the berm. After all is clear, the house occupants then reverse the switch position and water is pumped back into the silo from the holding tanks, raising the house back to its original position.
DRAWINGS
3 drawings are available for view in Adobe PDF format. These were drawn by architect Jerry Samania of Bozeman, Montana.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
Because of the unique form factor of this house, it is possible to orient any room with a preferred view by rotating the house inside the cylinder. This would be accomplished by utilizing a powered rubber wheel on the barge which makes contact with the inner silo wall.
Additionally, since the house is actually floating and not firmly bound to the Earth, earthquake survivability is greatly improved.
VIDEO
A video of the house model in operation is available on YouTube.
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The idea behind Proto-Teck's INDESTRUCTIBLE HOUSE is to protect not only the home occupants--but the structure itself--from the forces of a natural disaster such as a hurricane, tornado, fire, dust storm, tsunami, or hail storm. Clearly no structure can be truly indestructible, but this new design is a major leap forward in disaster-resistant homes.
DESCRIPTION
The "INDESTRUCTIBLE HOUSE" is in reality a houseboat floating in a large buried concrete silo filled with water. Earth excavated to bury the silo would be back-filled around the upper 1/3 of the silo, forming a berm. The house structure is constructed on a waterproof concrete cylinder, called a barge. The barge will also be a basement for storage and equipment, such as a electric generator in case of a power failure.
When the occupants of the INDESTRUCTIBLE HOUSE feel threatened by an oncoming event such as a hurricane, they will active a switch inside the house which will begin pumping water out of the concrete silo, and into large storage tanks buried nearby. As the water level drops, the house slips inside the protective walls of the concrete silo until the roof locks into the concrete curbing at the top of the berm. After all is clear, the house occupants then reverse the switch position and water is pumped back into the silo from the holding tanks, raising the house back to its original position.
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DRAWINGS
3 drawings are available for view in Adobe PDF format. These were drawn by architect Jerry Samania of Bozeman, Montana.
 Elevation |
Main Floorplan |
Upper Floorplan |
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
Because of the unique form factor of this house, it is possible to orient any room with a preferred view by rotating the house inside the cylinder. This would be accomplished by utilizing a powered rubber wheel on the barge which makes contact with the inner silo wall.
Additionally, since the house is actually floating and not firmly bound to the Earth, earthquake survivability is greatly improved.
VIDEO
A video of the house model in operation is available on YouTube.
Back
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