Atomitat (1962) was an underground bunker-home in
Plainview, Texas
Plainview is a city in and the county seat of Hale County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,194.
Geography
Plainview is located at (34.191204, –101.718806) and is located on the Llano Estacado.
According ...
, designed by architect
Jay Swayze. The name of the home came from the combination of the words "atomic" and "habitat". It was the first home in the U.S. to meet
civil defense
Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, miti ...
specifications for a nuclear shelter.
History
Architect Jay Swayze stated that the idea for the Atomitat was born when he attended a civil defense discussion on fallout shelters.
The home completed in 1962 and it was designed during the
cold war
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
when Americans feared nuclear war. Swayze said that the Atomitat was designed to be an atomic habitat which met the civil defense specifications.
The cost of the furnished Atomitat with two vehicles was estimated to be $135,000.
The Swayze's also stated that because the Atomitat home was secure against damaging weather, their home insurance rate was about 87.5% less than the rate of an above ground home.
In 1967 the Atomitat was featured in a
U.S. Information Agency
The United States Information Agency (USIA), which operated from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to " public diplomacy". In 1999, prior to the reorganization of intelligence agencies by President George W. Bush, President Bill ...
propaganda film. The film was part of a series showing scenes of American life, and it would be shown in Arab countries.
Design
Architect Jay Swayze compared his design to a "ship in a bottle". There was a reinforced steel and concrete shell and it was underground and it is under of soil.
It is in size.
The bunker had 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and windows throughout which were meant to mimic outdoor scenes and outdoor lighting.
The home was outfitted with an emergency generator and sewage system. The above ground structure was a garage with a door between two large garage doors. The door led to the shelter which had 2 large steel lined things with lead to protect against radiation.
The house was designed to make the occupant feel as if they were above ground. Lights could be made to mimic the different parts of the day and there was an space between the living space and the outer wall which had a flow of air. This allowed an occupant to open a window and feel a breeze.
The house was occupied by the same family for 35 years. The couple who owned it decided to sell it in 2002 because it was too large now that their family had grown up.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Atomitat
1962 introductions
Air raid shelters
Cold War sites
Subterranea (geography)
Survivalism
Radiation protection
Nuclear fallout