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Today's high-security shelters have nothing to do with those of the Cold War.
This was developed on two abandoned missile silos in Kansas.
In addition to protecting from a nuclear attack, they offer comforts not found in their 20th century counterparts.
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Some of these lodges offer a luxurious experience.
This is considered "the largest multi-million dollar bunker in the world" and is in the Czech Republic.
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Inside view of the Vivos Europa One bunker in Germany.
It is one of the most famous luxury bunker projects.
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Another '5-star' bunker: A secret bunker in southeast London, built to protect key officials during a nuclear winter, has been transformed into a $ 4 million luxury residence.
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Luczak Architekten created this residential block in Cologne from a buried WWII shelter.
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The thick exterior walls, along with its hybrid heat system, store energy during the day and at night in this refuge in Poland.
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Homeowners can personalize their safe home with high-quality finishes, as LED screens create the illusion of skylights and windows, like at Vivos xPoint in South Dakota.
(CNN) -
Say "doomsday bunker" and most people will imagine a concrete room filled with cots and canned goods.
The threat of global annihilation may be felt as much as it did during the Cold War, but today's high-security shelters have nothing to do with their 20th-century counterparts.
A number of companies around the world are finding a growing demand for structures that protect against any risk, be it a global pandemic, an asteroid, or World War III, and at the same time offer luxury services.
"Your father or grandfather's bunker was not very comfortable," says Robert Vicino, a real estate entrepreneur and CEO of Vivos, the company that founded and develops and manages high-end shelters around the world.
This is the nuclear megayacht designed to save the world
"They were gray. They were metal, like a warship or something. And the truth is that humanity cannot survive long-term as a Spartan, in such a bleak environment."
The lawsuit for the apocalypse
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Many of the world's elite, including sports stars and tech executives (Bill Gates is rumored to have bunkers on all of his properties) have chosen to design their own secret havens to house their families and staff.
Gary Lynch, CEO of the Texas-based Rising S Company, says that in 2016, orders for high-end underground bunkers grew 700% over 2015, while total sales have grown 300% since the presidential election. November in the US
1 of 7
|
Today's high-security shelters have nothing to do with those of the Cold War.
This was developed on two abandoned missile silos in Kansas.
In addition to protecting from a nuclear attack, they offer comforts not found in their 20th century counterparts.
2 of 7
|
Some of these lodges offer a luxurious experience.
This is considered "the largest multi-million dollar bunker in the world" and is in the Czech Republic.
3 of 7
|
Inside view of the Vivos Europa One bunker in Germany.
It is one of the most famous luxury bunker projects.
4 of 7
|
Another '5-star' bunker: A secret bunker in southeast London, built to protect key officials during a nuclear winter, has been transformed into a $ 4 million luxury residence.
5 of 7
|
Luczak Architekten created this residential block in Cologne from a buried WWII shelter.
6 of 7
|
The thick exterior walls, along with its hybrid heat system, store energy during the day and at night in this refuge in Poland.
7 of 7
|
Homeowners can personalize their safe home with high-quality finishes, as LED screens create the illusion of skylights and windows, like at Vivos xPoint in South Dakota.
The company's steel plate bunkers, designed to last generations, can store food for a year per inhabitant and withstand earthquakes.
But while some want only a bunker, others prefer to endure the apocalypse in an environment that offers an experience a little closer to the real world.
The developers of such community shelters acquire some dismantled military bunkers, built by the United States or the Soviet governments.
The fortified structures are designed to withstand a nuclear attack and are equipped with power, water purification and air filtration systems.
Most include food storage for a year or more, and many have hydroponic gardens to supplement rations.
Vicino says that Vivos received massive interest in its shelters around the 2016 U.S. election, and it sold practically all the spaces in its community shelters in recent weeks.
Modern Noah's arks
One of those shelters, Vivos xPoint, is near the Black Hills in South Dakota, and consists of 575 military bunkers that served as an Army ammunition depot until 1967.
It is currently a facility that will accommodate about 5,000 people, the interiors of each bunker are equipped by the owners at a cost of between $ 25,000 and $ 200,000 each.
The price depends on whether you want a minimalist space or a house with high-quality finishes.
The complex will be equipped with all the amenities of a small town, including a theater, schools, hydroponic gardens, a medical clinic, a spa and a gym.
Image of Survival Condo, a luxury bunker in Kansas
For customers looking for something further afield and more luxurious, the company also offers Vivos Europa One, regarded as a "modern Noah's Ark", in a former ammunition storage facility during the Cold War in Germany.
Vivos Europa One in Germany
The structure, carved out of solid rock, offers 34 private residences.
Units will be delivered empty and each owner will have the space to suit their own tastes and needs, with options including screening rooms, private pools and gyms.
The vast complex includes a tram system to transport residents throughout the complex, in which there are restaurants, theaters, cafes, a swimming pool and playgrounds.
"We have all the comforts of home, but also the comforts you expect when you leave your home," says Vicino.
Long-term luxury
For those who prefer to spend the end of the world alone, or at least with close family and friends, there is the option of The Oppidum, in the Czech Republic, called "the largest multi-million dollar bunker in the world".
Interior view of The Oppidum in Czech Republic
The top-secret facility, which was once a joint project between the former Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and Slovakia), was built for over 10 years since 1984.
The site now includes both an above-ground property and a 77,000-square-foot underground construction.
Although the final development will be built to the owner's specifications, the initial sketches include an underground garden, swimming pool, spa, cinema and wine cellar.
While many might view the luxurious amenities at these facilities as unnecessary, the developers argue that these features are critical to survival.
"These shelters are long-term, a year or more," Vicino says.
"It is better to be comfortable."
This story was originally published in 2017.
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