A Safe Space for Valuables, Provisions, and even Recreation
Do you want to expand your current home, build a secure storage space, or prepare for an uncertain future? Want to build a wine cellar, storm shelter, or hidden panic room? The best option for adding square footage may be right underneath your feet!
You don't need to be wearing a tinfoil hat to understand the benefits of underground housing. Although some people may associate the term "bunker" with paranoia or an anti-establishment mentality, the reality of underground and hillside tunneling is much more straightforward. You can save on heating because the Earth provides a constant temperature just a few feet below ground level. You can be reasonably assured that your valuables are protected against a wide range of natural disasters, including wildfires, storms, and tornadoes. And, just maybe, you are actually interested in designing a very nice wine cellar where you can ride out the Zombie Apocalypse.
Rock Shelter, Sub Basement, Underground Storage
For the practical home designer, the term "rock shelter" is more commonly used for underground designs. While many shelters indeed burrow into the ground beneath an existing home (especially in places where space is at a premium), there are others that are built into the side of cliffs or into hills. As it stands, you don't have to be a billionaire to create your own personal home bunker, and you don't have to reside in a dark and damp sub-basement while trading riddles with a sub-humanoid creature who will one day chase your nephew all the way to Mordor. Many underground rooms have followed the latest trends in basement remodeling, so they have recessed lighting, your choice of decorations, and all the plumbing conveniences you would expect from the rooms upstairs.
Underground Construction is Not a New Idea!
The concept of a shelter built into the ground goes back to the earliest cave dwellers, and was refined by less nomadic types who needed a safe place to secure their valuables and foodstuffs from raiders and wild animals. In places like Jerusalem, the ground is honeycombed with tunnels that were utilized for safety as well as for long term secure storage. (Breaking into a house is easy, but the only entrance and exit to a hidden tunnel might be continuously guarded). The Egyptians are noted for hiding their valuables deep in well-crafted tombs, and for centuries people have been smart enough to ride out adverse weather in basements and storm shelters. Bunkers and shelters may be associated with the Second World War and the Cold War, but they aren't any less reasonable today. In the event of a natural disaster or conflict, there could be a prolonged period where resources are scarce or civil unrest prevails. While the threat of atomic war is no longer present in people's minds, it wasn't too long ago that people were being prepared to remain in basements for several weeks while atomic fallout levels decreased from "life threatening" to "risky."