When it comes to the ultimate doomsday bunker, who better to design it than a space architect who has dreamt up a self-sustaining metropolis on Mars? With a background in delivering luxury projects for mega-rich clients, as well as making innovative emergency shelters for victims of natural disasters, ABIBOO Studio's Alfredo Muñoz has the perfect credentials. And as you'd expect, his practice's ultra-premium DBX and more affordable Nomad Bunkers, which double up as unique second homes, seriously wow.
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Now one of Spain's leading architects, Alfredo Muñoz founded ABIBOO Studio in 2010 and hasn't looked back.
To date, the game-changing practice, which has offices in Madrid, New York City and Chennai, India has worked on everything from large-scale sustainable planning projects and emergency accommodation to high-end celebrity mansions, all of which have gone on to inform the design of its bunkers. But the standout has got to be Nüwa. A self-sustaining vertical metropolis in a cliff on Mars, it's envisaged as the Red Planet's first permanent settlement and the future capital of a proposed colony of one million.
Commissioned in 2020 by space advocacy organisation the Mars Society and planned for 2054, Nüwa, which is named after the mother goddess in Chinese mythology, was developed by ABIBOO together with the SONet network, an international team of eminent scientists and academics.
Embedded in the cliffside to protect against radiation and meteor strikes, Nüwa boasts residential areas and workspaces, artificial Green Dome parks, farming and energy-generating facilities, pavilions for social interaction (pictured), and other life-sustaining amenities. ABIBOO has also designed four sister cities on Mars, including one on the planet's North Pole. Plus, hot on the heels of its work on Nüwa, ABIBOO is developing Onteco Mars, a virtual reality Martian metaverse that mirrors the future physical development.
Back on Planet Earth, ABIBOO has designed innovative two-storey emergency shelters that can be swiftly dispatched to disaster zones and assembled in next to no time without the need for cranes. These rapid construction shelters were developed in 2017 for humanitarian relief in Puerto Rico, which had been devastated by Hurricane Maria.
Muñoz told us he drew heavily on their design when creating the patent-pending DBX and Nomad Bunkers: “Though these shelters differ from bunkers, they embody the theme of providing rapid, effective solutions in extreme conditions.” With a Martian city and problem-solving emergency shelters under his belt, not to mention myriad other prestigious projects, ABIBOO's boss has quite the resumé.
Before he founded ABIBOO, Muñoz cut his teeth working for renowned architects and studios such as Iñaki Ábalos, Toyo Ito and Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. A prominent academic as well, he's a visiting professor at the European University of Madrid and has lectured at New York's Columbia University, Tongji University in Shanghai and other distinguished institutions around the world.
Adding to the strings in his bow, Muñoz is a leading member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, which makes him a bona-fide space architect. On top of this, the trailblazer was named one of the 40 under 40 European young leaders in 2016 by the Friends of Europe think-tank and was among 200 visionaries selected by Louis Vuitton to mark what would have been its founder's 200th birthday in 2021.
ABIBOO's foray into apocalypse-proof bunkers doesn't disappoint. In 2021, the studio unveiled its luxurious DBX doomsday bunker, which was commissioned by a mystery client in South Carolina.
The unnamed prepper was keen to create a self-sufficient second home, as well as a place to hunker down in should the worst happen, calling for a space that's as welcoming and comfortable as it is resilient. The bunker is accessed via a military-grade door and reinforced entryway built within a small hill.
Spanning a generous 12,000 square feet, the DBX is as robust as they come.
The refuge is encapsulated in a structure crafted from stainless steel and other extra-durable materials, further strengthened by seismic joints and bomb-proof inverted beams. Tough enough to withstand an array of natural and manmade catastrophes, the DBX can keep its occupants safe and sound amid the most nightmarish of scenarios.
The luxurious bunker can comfortably accommodate up to two family groups and a maximum of 10 people for up to a year.
Behind the external security door is an intermediate floor housing a garage and repair room. This leads to a lower-level decontamination room and the actual entrance to the bunker beyond which the living areas, a series of modular vault spaces centred around a garden, are located.
The garage is slick and stylish, with space for two large vehicles, including a flashy Tesla Cybertruck.
The area is kitted out with reserve petrol tanks and pumps, together with chargers for hybrid and electric vehicles. These are guaranteed to come in very handy indeed should the occupants need to make a quick getaway or go for a long drive once the emergency has passed.
Keeping the bunker free from contamination in the event of a virulent disease outbreak, chemical attack or nuclear disaster is paramount.
For this reason, the DBX incorporates a dedicated decontamination room at the internal entrance of the bunker. It features an air shower and sterilising wet shower designed to remove every trace of toxin.
An advanced NBC and ULPA air filtration system extracts excess carbon dioxide and other gases, bacteria and viruses, and allergens such as dust and mites, continuously cleaning the stale air. It can even get rid of nuclear fallout particles.
Water is extracted from the ground, meticulously filtered and blasted with ultraviolet light to kill harmful microbes, and H20 for drinking is stored frozen to ensure it stays potable.
Electricity is supplied by multiple means, including a generator connected to a fuel reserve and a biomass accumulator, and the bunker has a geothermal heating and cooling system.
After entering the actual bunker, you immediately arrive at the central space, which is made up of a hydroponic garden surrounded by communal areas, which include the living room, cinema and games room. While the bunker resembles the interior of a sci-fi spaceship in many respects, the décor is minimal yet inviting contemporary Scandi chic.
The central garden was influenced not only by ABIBOO's Martian city but also the design of Ancient Roman homes, which were arranged around atrium courtyards that served as green sanctuaries. The design fosters a connection with nature that enhances psychological well-being.
“The hydroponic garden mirrors our Nüwa solutions, where maintaining life in harsh, isolated conditions is essential,” Muñoz explained to us. “It's a modern solution harking back to Ancient Roman homes where nature played a central role.”
Providing a key source of nourishment for the occupants as well as a mental health boost, the 1,200-square-foot garden is a veritable mini farm. A variety of crops can be grown pesticide-free, with minimal water and soil, under violet LEDs – violet is the most effective wavelength for cultivating plants sans sunlight.
There's also substantial cold storage for food and seeds, along with a vault that can store 5,300 cubic feet of packaged freeze-dried food.
When starting the project, Muñoz was well-versed in the scientific and technical aspects of bunker design thanks to his expertise in space architecture, making this side of the undertaking a breeze. “The more complex challenge lay in addressing the psychological and emotional implications of long-term bunker habitation,” he told us. “The interior design focussed on promoting occupants' physical and mental health, transcending traditional architectural boundaries to support well-being in isolation.”
This dictated the placement of the feel-good central garden, and the studio concentrated on including a wealth of other amenities to help keep the occupants fit and healthy, both physically and mentally.
One of the vaults is set aside for a state-of-the-art gym.
The space is packed with the latest hi-tech workout equipment and special care has been taken to ensure the machines selected target every single muscle group. Maintaining muscle mass while holed up in a bunker is no easy task, so ABIBOO has gone all out with the DBX's exercise zone and made it one of the facility's key spaces.
Bunker amenities don't get more jaw-dropping than a swimming pool. The sort of amenity that may seem frivolous in a bunker where space is at a strict premium, only the most luxurious subterranean shelters are fancy enough to have one, including the DBX.
The stunning amenity, which measures 12 feet by 32 feet, is bound to improve the occupants' physical fitness and lift their spirits, so it was considered a worthwhile addition by ABIBOO given the emphasis on wellbeing.
The bunker's remaining amenities include a kitchen, workspaces, a laundry room and surgery room with supplies of medicine and equipment.
Now, we've come to the DBX's five bedrooms, which could have been transplanted from an upscale hotel. Simple yet elegantly decorated, they're a cut above the sort of thing you find in the typical bunker.
Each of the remarkably spacious bedrooms is equipped with a top-quality king-size bed dressed to perfection with the finest sheets, duvets and blankets, no doubt in the best fabrics money can buy like Egyptian cotton and cashmere.
Integrated wardrobes keep the space uncluttered, while gentle mood lighting creates a relaxing ambience and each of the bedrooms is decked out with a flat-screen TV.
The bunker's five ensuite bathrooms are just as premium as the bedrooms. They each feature custom-made designer furniture, gorgeous marble finishes and a walk-in shower with an integrated sauna.
ABIBOO is being tight-lipped about the cost of the DBX presumably in the interest of client confidentiality, but the bunker is likely to have set back its owner several million dollars. This is clearly not a budget option, that's for sure.
Luckily, ABIBOO has developed a more affordable doomsday shelter, the Nomad Bunker. It costs around $300,000 (£238k) according to Muñoz, so isn't cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but this bunker is significantly less expensive than the DBX.
Prefabricated in Burgos, Spain and easy to transport and install, the compact facility can be buried underground under 15 feet of topsoil.
Alternatively, the bunker can be placed above ground to serve as a shelter or a tiny or second home. This versatility is a hallmark of ABIBOO's bunkers and something that sets them apart from the competition.
“Our patent-pending bunkers are distinct for their dual functionality,” Muñoz told us. “They are not just emergency shelters but also sustainable, self-sufficient secondary homes.”
Spanning a respectable 300 square feet, the Nomad Bunker houses a maximum of seven people.
Like the DBX, the tubular shelter is made from stainless steel for superior strength and protection against the full gamut of possible natural and manmade disasters. It can also sustain its occupants for up to 12 months without any assistance from the outside world.
To enter the bunker, guests have to pass through a decontamination system similar to the DBX's located in an air-tight cabin. Together with the Nomad Bunker's advanced air and water filtration systems, this ensures the shelter stays toxin-free.
Reflecting the DBX, the décor in the Nomad Bunker is pared-back Scandi chic. The look is clean and contemporary, but not severe and clinical.
The living area packs in a kitchenette with a microwave oven, dishwasher, washing machine and fridge-freezer.
As is the case with the DBX, the Nomad Bunker has a cold storage facility for food and seeds, as well as a vault with space for enough freeze-dried packaged food to keep the occupants fed for a full year, if necessary.
The modular design of the Nomad Bunker makes it especially versatile and the shelter can incorporate a hydroponic garden with the same technology the DBX's mini farm uses.
In addition to the kitchenette, the Nomad Bunker's living area includes a dining table that doubles up as a workspace, along with a flat-screen TV and sofa bank that converts into a bed that sleeps two.
The dinky bedroom can accommodate up to five people. Ingeniously designed to make the best use of the compact space, the bedroom features a fold-down bed with indented steps for access to the top bunks, instead of a cumbersome ladder.
Every last detail of the bunker has been scrupulously thought out in order to maximise the space and provide the occupants with the most comfortable experience possible.
A nice touch is the fabric screen, which allows for a modicum of privacy.
Demand for ABIBOO's bunkers has spiked, according to Muñoz: “The COVID-19 pandemic and current geopolitical instability have heightened concerns about having an emergency plan,” he told us. “The pandemic and the war in Ukraine have particularly been a wake-up call for many Europeans, prompting thoughts about contingency plans.”
No wonder the bunkers are selling like hotcakes considering their superior space architecture, apocalypse-proof features and top-class amenities, which include this swish bathroom fitted with a rainfall shower.
With the world on shaky ground and interest in ABIBOO's shelters surging, it could only be a matter of time before a bunker rather than a country cottage, beachside villa or ski chalet becomes the must-have second home.
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