With an entirely custom-built interior, a nine-foot-wide sliding glass door and a warm modern aesthetic, this grain silo converted to a compact home seems worlds away from its humble farmyard origins. Architect Christoph Kaiser purchased the 1955 corrugated steel wall silo from a Kansas farmer and had it dismantled and shipped to downtown Phoenix, Arizona on the back of a pickup truck to begin the renovation process that would transform it into a beautiful, cozy and affordable two-story residence.

Once set in place in the up-and-coming Garfield Historic District, the silo began its dramatic makeover process. Large doors and windows were added to bring light into the previously darkened space, and the oculus at the top used to promote air circulation to the stored grain was turned into a skylight. Views of the Phoenix skyline are strategically framed, with the other windows looking out onto a spacious private garden.

With the silo’s tiny footprint, maximizing the interior space was a top priority. Kaiser designed a built-in, all-in-one solution that’s essentially one big piece of furniture to accommodate all of the residents’ daily living needs. Curved to match the line of the walls, the custom interior is clad mostly in reclaimed walnut flooring scored on Craigslist. Kaiser even designed a one-of-a-kind ceiling lamp with hooks for hanging pots and pans to save space. The Eames wire chairs are the only elements that weren’t custom-made for the home.

A spiraling staircase leads to the sleeping loft, which is equipped with a digital projector so the couple has their very own mini movie theater in their bedroom. The bathroom, finished in glossy floor-to-ceiling penny tile, boasts a rounded custom vanity and compact Duravit toilet. When the nine-foot window is opened to the garden in nice weather, the home seems to expand.

“It was love at first sight: an affordable, challenging prospect,” the architect tells World Architecture News. “The thought of assembling a kit of parts that fits in the bed of a truck, and ending up with a home for two was a tantalizing challenge, very appealing from a carbon-footprint, sustainability, and shall we say, ‘architectural rigor’ standpoint.”

Located in a converted subterranean silo near Concordia, Kansas, the first complex of these high-end survival accommodations is already sold out and their creators are working on a second nuke-proof silo transformation project for eager buyers. Many silo homes exist already, but few are designed for multi-family living and many remain semi-theoretical as yet – this one is luxurious and fully realized.

Luxury Survival Condos boasts both the nuts and bolts, “physical protection, redundant infrastructure for power, water, air, and food,” as well as a surprising array of amenities: facilities for “cross training, aquaponic farming, medical support” including a “community swimming pool, dog walking park, rock climbing wall, theater and general store” as well as a jail for anyone who misbehaves.

The eye-popping prices are compared by founder Larry Hall to Manhattan residences, but seem steep even by New York City metrics: $1.5 million for a half-floor unit just under 1,000 square feet, $3 million for a full floor and $4.5 million for a “penthouse” (two floors). For those who can afford it, the company also offers their services for transforming whole silos into single-family survival retreats.

The first space was purchased in 2008 and features seven floors of living spaces, able to accommodate up to 75 occupants. The various areas are connected by elevators (to be powered by green off-grid sources in an emergency) as well as stairs for redundancy. Each resident is allocated a 5-year supply of freeze-dried food in addition to the vegetables and fish grown and bred underground. Water and air treatment are addressed as well, with a 750,000-gallon reserve of drinking water as well as filtering systems. Generators and wind turbines feed into a battery bank to store up at least some level of power reserves as needed.

Given how much people pay to buy these units one has to wonder if they ever bother to use them under normal conditions, perhaps to get a sense of what life would really be like should they end up living there in a real end-of-world scenario. Of course, the standard problems apply: if others know where this is, what is to keep the hordes from attempting to overwhelm it were a global disaster ever to unfold?

An amazing hybrid of preservation and transformation, this project involves carving a series stunning spaces inside a huge series of concrete silos set alongside the waterfront of Cape Town. Once the tallest structure in the city, but abandoned since 1990, this converted complex will provide a home for 80 art galleries and create a hub for cultural activity.

The spatial solution proposed by Thomas Heatherwick Studio involves scooping out huge voids within the existing industrial heritage site. This approach in turn exposes visitors to the tubular interiors of the silos via a newly-formed atrium while conserving much of the original building exterior. Meanwhile, below the surface, a series of re-purposed underground tunnels and storage spaces will provide additional access to the architectural history of the complex.

The non-profit endeavor will exhibit contemporary African art via indoor galleries as well as a rooftop sculpture garden, bookstore, restaurant, bar and more. THS will be working on the Zeitz MoCAA (founded with the collection of entrepreneur Jochen Zeitz) with a series of local partners including Ven Der Merwe Miszewski (VDMMA), Rick Brown Associates (RBA) and Jacobs Parker.

In an interview with DesignBoom, he architect sough to ask and answer the critical quesiton: “How do you turn forty-two vertical concrete tubes into a place to experience contemporary culture? Our thoughts wrestled with the extraordinary physical facts of the building. There is no large open space within the densely packed tubes and it is not possible to experience these volumes from inside. Rather than strip out the evidence of the building’s industrial heritage, we wanted to find a way to enjoy and celebrate it. We could either fight a building made of concrete tubes or enjoy its tube-iness.”

Of the project, David Green (CEO of the V&A Waterfront) said: “thomas heatherwick understood how to interpret the industrial narrative of the building, and this was the major breakthrough. His design respects the heritage of the building while bringing iconic design and purpose to the building.”

Regarding the search for a perfect site, Jochen Zeitz explains that “for five years we investigated suitable sites across Africa. The V&A waterfront provided an iconic heritage building, situated in one of the most visited and iconic sites in [the country].” Meanwhile, all of the existing silos will be capped with glass to let in light and show off their shape from above.

Take your pick between a pair of once-abandoned silos: one lets you explore nearly 100 vertical feet of underwater space with hidden caverns, while the other suspends you in virtual free fall, riding air currents in a cylindrical wind tunnel.

While those two primary volumes form the core experience of this conversion project, a series of shipping containers (stacked ten stories high) surrounding these structures will provide support and circulation spaces. Warsaw studio Moko Architects aims to start construction in just over one year on this ambitious project, set in the city’s industrial district.

The modified cargo containers additions are designed to contain offices, shops, a cafe and hostel as well training rooms or sports outfitters for visitors. These stacked  attachments will be form a dynamic array and be connected via staircases spanning between the central cylinders. As they slip past one another in space, outdoors decks are formed organically as well on various roof levels within the vertical design configuration.

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Indoor Skydiving Inside Concrete Silos Cargo Containers

Formerly spark plugs of the cold war, dozens of decades-old, decommissioned underground nuclear missile silos are slowly slipping into disrepair and decay. Not all of these relics are destined for the ash heap of history, however, a precious few are taking on new life as post-apocalyptic family homes – without the apocalypse. The best thing about living in a refurbished missile silo? Telling your kids, “You can’t fight in here, this is the war room!”

Home, Home On The Firing Range

(images via: UP-HAA, Arms Control Wonk and Pyjamas Media)

Why would anyone want to live in an old missile silo? Let’s look at the positives, starting with the best construction work government money can buy. Then there’s the feeling of security that comes with living in a structure built to withstand tornadoes, hailstorms, wildfires and the odd Soviet pre-emptive nuclear strike. Home handyman types will find little to do besides changing light bulbs.

A Real Fixer-Upper?

(images via: Think Or Thwim and Artificial Owl)

There are negatives, of course, that go beyond the lack of skylights, picture windows and kidney-shaped swimming pools. Though they were built to last, missile silos and their associated infrastructure did require maintenance of the preventive variety. The oddly beautiful installation above is the Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard complex in Nekoma, North Dakota: the only operational anti-ballistic missile (ABM) base ever completed and dating from the late 1960s. ABMs were designed to protect ICBM sites from attack by enemy missiles, in other words protecting our protectors.

(images via: English Russia, Getty Images and Telstar Logistics)

A missile base that was completely neglected for years may have a number of daunting issues any new owner must deal with before moving in such as flooding, mold and structural settling. Got a sticky set of blast doors? That’ll require more than just a few shots of WD40.

Blasts From The Past

(images via: Gypsy Journal and Wikimedia)

Most nuclear missile sites comprise much more than the actual missile silo. Underground control complexes attached to the silo by tunnels provided personnel with long-term living facilities (kitchens, bathrooms etc.) and these are the portions most often chosen for home conversion. Even so, life at an updated missile base isn’t a bowl of cherries – and there are usually few stores or supermarkets nearby from which to procure said cherries.

(image via: Expedition Portal)

For obvious reasons, nuclear missile bases were located in places with sparse population and negligible infrastructure. The image above shows an old Titan -1 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) launching base located east of Denver, Colorado. Electrical power, gas & water, waste disposal and the lack of friendly (or often ANY) neighbors are serious considerations for anyone contemplating living in a renovated silo.

My Home Is My Subterra Castle

(images via: Jiaju and Trip Advisor)

When luck is on their side, homeowners can acquire a decommissioned missile silo in good repair at a decent price. Take the Subterra Castle in Dover, Kansas. Edward and Dianna Peden originally purchased the former Atlas E ICBM site for around $40,000 back in the 1980s – presumably at the bottom of the market.

(images via: Roadside America and Subterra)

The Pedens proceeded to renovate & revamp the 34-acre site to the point that organized tours now visit their home. With 6,500 sq ft of underground living space, an 11,000 sq ft underground shop/garage, his & hers side-by-side toilets and a hot tub, the Cold War is just a fading memory.

Check out this video that introduces the Pedens and their upcycled silo home:

Cold War, Hot Properties

(images via: MissileBases.com, RedGypsy1969 and Roadside America)

The Pedens love living in their renovated missile silo so much, they’ve gone into business finding and selling similar properties. The couple set up a real estate company named 20th Century Castles and run it from their home in a decommissioned Atlas E missile site. “This has been the best investment of our lifetime, we love our home,” say the happy silo-dwellers. “We sold our first missile site in 1995 and as of January 2010, we have sold 49 of these properties.”

(images via: MissileBases.com)

One problem the Pedens face is that prime sites are becoming difficult to find. Many of the newer bases built in the early 1960s are being destroyed by the government due to international treaty obligations while the older sites dating back to the 1950s are considered by long-time owners to be “hard assets” that are steadily rising in value.

Underground Titanic

(images via: Think Or Thwim, Wikimedia and O’Reilly/MacDevCenter)

Some of the largest missile silo bases were those constructed to house and protect Titan II ICBMs. The base depicted above features three missile silos and associated command & control facilities that take up a total of 47,000 sq ft spread over (under, actually) 57 acres. One of these bases recently was offered up for auction at eBay for a cool $1.5 million.

From Launch Pad To Bachelor Pad

(images via: Oddity Central and Wired.com)

America’s nuclear deterrent evolved over time, as did the bases built to store and – if need be – launch the ICBMs at the evildoers. This gives homebuyers some leeway in terms of size: both of their investment and their, er, new digs. Bruce Townsley decided to go the more modest route after seeing Ed Peden discuss his missile silo home with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show.

(images via: Oddity Central)

In 1997, Townsley plopped down $99,000 for an Atlas F missile base near Abilene, Texas. While Atlas E sites like the one the Pedens converted were built to store multiple missiles, Atlas F sites stocked just one, along with about 2,200 sq ft of living space. By the time Townsley was finished his renovations, his new home boasted just 1,000 sq ft of space but is bright, white & cozy.

Down The Hatch!

(images via: Silohome)

Got a hankering for the missile silo lifestyle but can’t be troubled to whip an old base into shape? Silohome knows what you’re thinking – they’ve done most (if not all) of the whipping so you don’t have to. You DO, however, have to plunk down $2.3 million but what you get is a true turn-key special… not THAT turn-key! Whew, that was a close one, and so is Silohome’s “model home”, as it were: just a few miles from Lake Placid, NY. Who knew an Atlas ICBM missile base was in, er, shooting distance of the 1980 Winter Olympics?

(images via: Silohome and Moviemuse Reviews)

In any case, Silohome has domesticated the former base inside and out, below ground and above. It’s even got a small private airstrip in case you want to invite like-minded fellow travelers over for some pinocle or fly out rolls of microfilm hidden inside pre-Columbian art ala Hitchcock’s North By Northwest.

Sleeping With The Enemy

(images via: WebUrbanist, Martin rolle and Truthdig)

Perhaps the Pedens and others like them will have to set their sites beyond the border… catch my drift? You guessed it, Mother Russia! The successor state to the former Evil Empire has just as many nuclear missile bases as the USA (more or less) and a series of treaties dating back to the mid-1980s has resulted in many of them being abandoned to various degrees. Better act fast, potential homeowners, lest we fall prey to a missile silo home gap!

(image via: WorldChanging)

You may be wondering just why the military, after going to great expense to build a huge network of missile silos, now sees them as obsolete? Blame technology – the development of inertial guidance systems in the 1960s turned the bases into sitting ducks. Much better to have mobile ducks, such as submarines. Maybe someday, somebody will be selling obsolete nuclear subs as high-tech houseboats… and we wonder what sort of deterrent will replace them?