Secure your family

What is a bunker supposed to protect against?
Why shelters are needed?
How long to stay in the bunker?
Is planning permission required?
How are we designing the bunkers?

What should a bunker protect against?

Bunkers, also called atomic bomb shelters, are primarily constructed for the event of armed conflict but can also be utilized as secure refuges in other disasters and emergencies. Protective spaces must withstand the impact of modern weaponry, specifically providing protection against nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare agents, as well as direct hits from conventional weapons.

The shelters must provide protection against the effects of modern weapons. The main danger here is the mechanical effects (air blast, earth shock) of nuclear weapons at a distance from the explosion center, at which an air shock of 100 kN/m² (1 bar) is released.

The ventilation system within the shelter must clean the poisoned supply air using gas filters. Additionally, it should create a slight excess pressure in the shelter itself to prevent the ingress of poisoned outside air through any leaks in the shelter envelope.

The shelter should also protect against the following:

Nuclear radiation from radioactive fallout including thermal radiation
Mechanical effects from fragments and vibrations
Fire exposure
Electromagnetic effect leading to destruction of electrical devices
Earthquake
Effects of chemical warfare agents (chemical weapons) including volatile warfare agents (aerosols and gases) and sedentary warfare agents (liquids and solids)
Effects of biological weapons (bacteria or viruses)

Why shelters are needed?

Due to political developments over the last 70 years, protection and security have become a matter of course for most citizens in Europe. Private disaster preparedness is often deemed unnecessary and dismissed. However, despite the seemingly good security situation, there are real risks here as well.

As of May 2023, there is a total of 168 nuclear power reactors in Europe and hundreds of chemical factories—numbers on the rise.

Environmental disasters, crime rates, terrorism alerts, and cyberattacks are increasing year by year, posing a real threat in Europe according to expert opinions. Additionally, political conflicts in neighbouring countries and scenarios involving the use of NBC (Nuclear, Biological or Chemical) warfare agents and explosive weapons are no longer ruled out.

Even in the case of announced disasters, it would not be possible nowadays to quickly establish sufficient shelters for the EU population.

With your own protective space, you and your family are protected across generations from various dangers.

In peacetime, protective buildings can generally be used in a variety of ways, such as a hobby room, storage and wine cellar or even as a soundproof music room.

How long to stay in the bunker?

The necessary duration of stay in the shelter primarily depends on the type of threat and the supplies within the shelter. In the event of a nuclear accident, according to the rule of sevens, radiation exposure drops to approximately 1% of the original maximum reference dose after just two days. After 14 days, there is still roughly a radiation exposure of 0.1%. In general, the lower the effective radiation exposure, the longer stays outside the shelter are possible.

After the diminished radiation dose, the shelter can be left to obtain new supplies or to leave the area.

Shelters and bunkers are designed to accommodate shorter or longer stays of several days and weeks. The duration of stay in the shelter essentially depends on the food and water supplies.

It is advised to have a food supply for at least 10 days. Stockpiling food and beverages helps bridge the time until government assistance is available.

Is planning permission required for an underground bunker?

In UK fallout shelter would be classified as an engineering operation. Unlike Building Regulations, there are no exemptions under the Planning Acts that permit nuclear shelters or similar structures to be constructed. As a result, planning permission would be required. Whether such a proposal would be likely to be granted planning permission would depend upon an assessment of its impact on the character of the surrounding area and neighbours' amenities.

There is no regulation that exempts the building of bunkers from scrutiny. Therefore, it is only after the local authorities determine that the building will not negatively affect the rest of the people that live in the vicinity that it will be allowed.

How are we designing the bunker?

No guidelines have been issued by the UK Government either to the general public or to local authorities to specify the construction technique for providing an area within a new building which offers protection from nuclear fall-out. Therefore your shelter will be designed in accordance with the latest Swiss standards (TWP and technical specifications TPH), taking into consideration conventional, nuclear, chemical, biological, and secondary weapon effects.

Subsequently, our structural engineer will conduct a static calculation for the planned shelter, taking into account the building statics, in accordance with the current Swiss directive TWK2017.

Unfortunately, the steel shell shelters commonly used in the US in the event of tornadoes are not supported by this guidance.

In our designs, the protective spaces essentially consist of a thick reinforced concrete shell made of cast-in-place concrete in the basement of a building or underground.

Access is secured with special blast doors. Additionally, protective spaces are equipped with an emergency exit in case the exit through the protective space door is blocked.

For reliable air supply, bunkers are equipped with a specialized ventilation system and gas filters, which can be operated electrically and, in emergencies, manually with a hand crank.

During non-threat periods, protective spaces can be used as regular cellar storage, hobby rooms, wine cellars, or as a secure storage area.