Hardened Structures Operates Globally Including USA, Canada, South America, Europe, UK, UAE, Asia, Australia & New Zealand. Constructing a more secure future for you, your family, friends, corporates and governments. Make my enquiry to Hardened Structures. Email : Clarry@HardenedStructures.com.au www.Linkedin.com/in/IanClarry Hardened Structures USA www.HardenedStructures.com
Extraordinary Engineering Solutions for Unique Challenges
The Hardened Structures independent design and engineering teams have the unique experience and technical know-how to design, engineer, and construct specialized shelter systems in the most demanding environments and operational conditions anywhere in the world. We work closely with the client to understand their needs and design systems to mitigate any known threat.
Please review our web pages on the Genesis Series Shelter Systems, Concrete Dome Shelter Construction, and Missile Silo Conversions for examples.
Additionally we have experience working to dovetail Hardened Technology into both existing homes, and homes presently under design by custom design firms and exclusive architects. We are able to bring our team alongside you architect or designer to dovetail our technology into their design, without disclosing to the lead architect the technical specifications of our Hardening Technology.
Through our years of developing our technology solutions we have partnered with several key equipment vendors in life sustaining apparatus, and technological enhancements for the built environment. one such example is Hardened Structures partner for CBRN air systems. TEMET is our provider for world class blast protection and special ventilation technology applied in civilian shelters and hardened military shelters. TEMET protection technology is also successfully utilized in solving demanding protection problems in industrial and mobile collective protective applications. However we also have experience working with Andair AG USA, the US arm of the Swiss manufacturer of competing technology.
So whatever the project type, whatever the technical complexity, we have the experience and professionalism to accomplish you project.
Underground Shelters (aka bomb or fallout shelters)
General
"At Hardened Structures we design our civilian underground Shelters primarily for nuclear weapons of medium to large size but also secondary for chemical, biological and radiological dispersion devices and conventional weapons. Also known as Weapons of Mass Destruction or WMD's. Although the design and dimensions are principally determined for nuclear weapons it can be established that a good underground nuclear bomb shelter also offers excellent protection against chemical, biological and conventional weapons along with most types of WMD's. In addition, with the ever increasing importance of having EMP (Electro-Magnetic Pulse) protection of Shelters, and other "HARDENED" structures, we provide State of the Art EMP mitigation both in terms of Bomb Shelter design engineering, which incorporates EMP shielding, and the usage of specialized EMP components.
The extent of protection for private civilian underground bomb shelters will, in general, be determined by Blast Overpressure measured in "Bars", (where 1 Bar equals 15 psi of applied Blast Overpressure) and initial radiation mitigation. Protection against the penetration of chemical, biological and radiological weapons is achieved by constant positive internal air pressure maintained by artificially filtered ventilation and air-locks. At Hardened Structures we use only Military Grade NBC air filtering systems, blast doors, blast valves and other shelter components.
U.S. National Planning Attack Scenario
The United States National Planning Attack Scenarios have identified the detonation of a 10-Kiloton (KT) Improvised Nuclear Device as the most likely incident of a nuclear bomb exploding within this country. As a reference, the Hiroshima bomb was 12-KT and the Nagasaki bomb was 22-KT.
In this scenario a 10-kiloton improvised nuclear device is smuggled into the center of a large metropolitan city inside a delivery van and detonated. Casualties are estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands with infrastructure damage within a bounded range of effect of 1 to 3 miles. It is estimated that 1 million + people will attempt self-rescue by evacuating and contamination in varying levels will encompass approximately 3,000 square miles.
There are several websites which have info on potential nuclear targets within the USA and the subsequent fallout path.
Planning an Underground Shelter
To properly plan, design and construct a customized underground bomb shelter for our individual clients we must first:
Identify the threat levels; blast overpressure, radiation, etc.
Identify the assets to be protected; people, possessions, food, water, etc
Determine the length of the shelter duration
Thoroughly examine the site and geotechnical conditions
Be aware of all regulatory agencies having jurisdiction
Once this information is assembled a Protection Program and Cost Model Budget is then submitted to the Client for their review and approval.
Please contact Hardened Structures for additional information and to start planning your undeground shelter.
Department of State D.D.T.C. Registered Fully ITAR compliant for worldwide design and build services
The Hardened Structures team of specialized design firms and general contractors can provide Department of Defense designs or design/build services for almost any type of military facility including:
Deep Earth Command and Control Bunkers
NATO "Third Generation" Direct Attack Aircraft Hangers
The Hardened Structures team of registered architects, construction professionals and former Navy SEALS can provide the following services and products:
Risk/Threat Assesments
Red Team Assaults & Evaluations
Architectural Engineering
Shelter Dynamics & Programming
Fortification Designs & Placement
Structural Engineering
Blast & Ballistic Engineering
Mechanical & Electrical Engineering
EMP/HEMP Mitigation Engineering
CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological & Nuclear) Air Filtration Systems
Blast Doors, CO2 Scrubbers & Oxygen Machines
Specialized Shelter Equipment
Existing Facility Assessments & Recommendations
The Hardened Structures Team designs structures according to UFC 3-340-01: Department of Defense Unified Facilities Criteria : Design and Analysis of Hardened Structures and UFC 3-340-02: Department of Defense Unified Facilities Criteria.
Military grade pre-fabricated steel shelter systems. All designs meet or exceed the (USACE) United States Army Corps of Engineers design standards and are in accordance with the (IBC) International Building Code.
Complete design and specifications for Command and Control Centers, Continuity of Governments
Facilities, Communication Centers and similar Facilities.
Burster Slab designs and analysis. Full Blast Engineering and Mitigation designs.
Full Facility HEMP shielding designs and complete specialized component protection.
Military grade CBRE (chemical, biological, radiological and explosive) equipment including air filtration, blast doors, blast valves, etc.
Military grade pre-fabricated steel shelter systems, the GENESIS Shelter System
Highly specific expertise for the commercial market
The Engineers and Architects who make up the Hardened Structures core team of professionals each have far greater years and depth of experience in commercial, institutional and government class projects than our background in hardened shelters for residential clients.
We see in throughout the entire sector of commercial building types and corporate campuses there is a need for higher levels of security infrastructures, physical security improvements, and planning for response to natural and made events to protect the assets and employees of corporations.
The physical improvements to the built environments need to be supplemented with standard protocols and procedures, trained to key staff to know how to react correctly to various types of events. To achieve this holistic approach to Security infrastructure improvements we have joined together with security consultants to integrate our services.
The approach to commercial building improvement requires meeting with our clients key stakeholders for interviews, surveying the facilities and preparing a written and graphic set of documents to recommend improvements.
These recommended improvements may take on much different aspects including but not limited to the following:
Modifications and or retrofit to the built environment, such as structural modifications and new spaces for secure purposes
Enhanced programming and training for applicable staff
Advanced telecommunications improvements
Standby and backup power planning
Commercial structures face differing levels of risk associated with CBRN threat, climate change and natural events, accidents or intentional (criminal or terrorist) events. The development of effective and efficient client/project-specific mitigation strategies requires the use of Risk Assessment. Risk is a combination of credible threats, vulnerability and consequence. Certain geographical areas have particular risk factors that affect facility capability need and placement such as population density, presence of critical infrastructure, location in a high terrorist threat or high natural disaster areas and military base/complex proximity.
Hardened Structures employs the latest Department of Homeland Defense and approved sensory and filtering equipment to protect commercial and government buildings. Hardened Structures is currently working to protect commercial and government facilities from the Mid-East to California.
The CBRN Threat
Counter-terrorism experts within the DHS, CDC, and NIOSH are vexed by commercial and public building vulnerability. An office building has a high concentration of human life encapsulated in a small space; an ideal target for today's merciless terrorist. The experts repeatedly identify the HVAC system as the most likely distribution point for a toxic attack.
Structural Hardening of Buildings and Structures
Innovative structural solutions are needed to "harden" new or existing commercial structures to accommodate client priorities. The Hardened Structures Team of specially trained independent design firms and general contractors has the required experience to design, engineer, and manage the construction of these specialized projects.
Hardened Structures is a Professional Design & Construction Program Management Firm specializing in the confidential planning, design and covert construction of fortified homes (or conventional homes) with underground shelters or bunkers (shown above), stand alone shelters and other types of sheltering options. These facilities are designed with independent sources of power and water. They can serve as a primary dwelling, vacation home, retreat, long term shelter or expanded multi-function compound. Client confidentiality and total project secrecy are paramount on all of our projects.
Our Team comprises of a core group of independent design firms and general contractors with specialized training in the unique design and construction requirements of Fortified Homes.
Balanced Survivability Design Approach
Because it is impossible to protect against all threats and hazards, adopting a "balanced approach" in designs that considers intended functions, threat mitigation, and budget, is imperative. This is where Hardened Structures experience and know-how separates our Team from the general purpose Architects and Engineers. Our Teams experience has shown there is no one-size-fits-all or formula of security features and programs that will ensure 100% safety against all manmade or natural disasters.
In order to meet our client's goals and budgets, our Team ensures each project is designed and specified to meet a particular hierarchy of anticipated threats, not all possible threats. In other words, Hardened Structures' Team designs your facility to achieve a Balanced Survivability, ensuring that no one system or component is the "Achilles Heel". No matter if your personal threat hierarchy focuses first and foremost on a regional natural disaster, Nuclear, Biological, Chemical or EMP/HEMP event, or forced/armed entry; our experienced and highly specialized team of engineers, scientists and ex-Navy SEALS can confidentiality design and covertly construct your facility efficiently and cost effectively.
Traditional American executive home architecture has a number of pitfalls which are detrimental to secure home planning.
We
can advise some sound planning
principals for hardened home design which are contrary to the typical
executive home plan, but very favorable to making the home much more
ready to protect families in a crisis event.
One key design concern is a master suite separated far from
children's bedrooms, often on the opposite site of the home, past the
main entry, combined with a grand open plan main entry to great room
layout ( 70% of home invasions occur through the front door ).
All humans natural reaction is to personally go secure their children in an emergency.
Therefore one can easily see how a home with the master and children's bedrooms
separated by the main entry is a major design flaw in secure home design
in event of a home invasions, (or even in a tornado or fire or
earthquake).
At Hardened Structures our architects can design to your individual architectural style be it Contemporary, Traditional, Colonial, Mediterranean, Beach Front, Southwestern or any personal preference. We can also work with your own architect to achieve the level of protection and perfection necessary for your personal residence. Our security consultants are internationally recognized experts in the fields of building fortifications, personal security, advanced security systems and offensive/defensive components.
At Hardened Structures we employ a Multi-Hazard Engineering methodology that not only recognizes individual threats sequentially, but also address all hazards/threats as simultaneously occurring, so as to insure there is no "Achilles Heel" within our designs. The Protection Program for a Fortified Home is varied and is usually determined by the Client's Threat, Risk and Asset assessments.
The home can be protected against a wide range of threats including forced entry/assaults, climate change, chemical / biological / radiological / explosive (CBRE) agents, air-blast, ground shock, penetration, fragmentation and damage to the structure and equipment due to explosive loading. Along with the Client's particular living, function and storage requirements, the designs also incorporate active offensive and defensive components, and mechanical responses to reduce the effectiveness of any given threat while providing for individual/family long term living requirements.
For most of our clients, one of the most important aspects of designing their Fortified Home is that it not resemble a fortified home and that the outwardly appearance is of a well designed custom home. Only the owners will know the true capabilities and functions of the home which may include:
Vaults for firearms and ammunition
Vaults for precious metals, cash and other vaulables
Remote control Offensive and Defensive systems
Hidden compartments and sliding bookcases
Emergency escape ways
Alternative energy and sustainability systems
Vehicle storage and fuel systems
Ballistic walls, windows and doors
Fire resistance
"Off Grid" electrical capabilities
Independent water and sewage
Advanced security systems, CCTV, sensors and alarms
This article is written by Douglas Clark from Hardened Structures for people who are considering building their retreat with a fortified shelter. Here, we will thoroughly explain the entire process on the shelter design and construction phases with our design professionals (engineers and architects) and other building industry professionals (general contractors, subcontractors and product vendors, etc).
Because it is impossible to protect against all threats and hazards, adopting a "balanced approach" in designs that considers intended functions, threat mitigation, and budget, is imperative. This is where Hardened Structures experience and know-how separates our Team from the general purpose Architects and Engineers. Our Teams experience has shown there is no one-size-fits-all or formula of security features and programs that will ensure 100% safety against all manmade or natural disasters. In order to meet our client's goals and budgets, our Team ensures each project is designed and specified to meet a particular hierarchy of anticipated threats, not all possible threats. In other words, Hardened Structures' Team designs your facility to achieve what we term 'Balanced Survivability', ensuring that no one system or component is the 'Achilles Heel.' No matter if your personal threat hierarchy focuses first and foremost on a regional natural disaster, Nuclear, Biological, Chemical or EMP/HEMP event, or forced/armed entry our experienced and highly specialized team of engineers, scientists and ex-Navy SEALS can confidentiality design and covertly construct your facility efficiently and cost effectively.
What to Expect when Planning a Hardened Shelter with a Professional Team of Engineers and Architects
In most of the American Redoubt rural areas, you are not required to have a licensed architect or professional engineer to design your own home. Your local contractor can often provide you with a drafting service to plan homes, that is, if you only need to build a modern, code compliant home, up to about 3,000 square feet, with very modest improvements to perimeter security.
Please understand first and foremost that your project type will cost more than the standard level of construction.
In general, the costs associated with a custom project, both in terms of the professional design fees and the resultant construction costs, are much higher. For example, if the cost of new construction in your region is typically $140 per square foot for a nicely upgraded home of about 2,000SF, for a custom hardened and fortified structure, you can expect the costs to exceed $250 per square foot, or more, depending upon the threats you wish to be protected against. Some costs can reach over $800SF, depending upon the threat that requires mitigation.
The reasons for this are myriad, but it all stems from the multiple aspects of life support/life protection which must be achieved for a hardened shelter to be truly sustainable. For example, if one wishes to ride out a nuclear or biological event, that person is often seeking to be protected in the shelter for a period of a month, or longer.
A system MUST be in place to provide a continuous supply of clean air, and keep contaminated air from entering. This is one of the key lifesaving technologies needed to be employed in any shelter and is often referred to as CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological & Nuclear). But this system requires extensive engineering, planning and a source for continuous energy as well as competent construction techniques. How are we providing power? If it is by generator, how are protecting the generator from sabotage or routine failure, proper venting and noise solutions? Our engineers have proven solutions for this, but they come at a cost.
Another cost consideration to balance is if the event we are protecting against is nuclear blast, what about HEMP? HEMP often coincides with a nuclear event. HEMP events disrupt and/or disable many electronics and therefore the shelter's energy source and the air pressure/filtration CBRN system must also be HEMP protected. Possibly other living spaces need HEMP protection, but this should be kept to a minimum if budget is a constraint.
The two technology fields of CBRN (air filtration and overpressure), and HEMP shielded enclosures must be planned in unison. Any unplanned Utility penetration in an HEMP shielding solution will cause the HEMP shield to fail. However, these engineering specialties are each the work of separate professional engineers, which must be coordinated by an experienced project manager.
Additionally, the logistics of calculating and planning an ample source of energy, with fuel, is a very costly undertaking. While you are in this shelter, you will need to prepare food, drinking water, maintain human sanitation, and be in an environment which does not drive you or your group members into emotional issues. You are essentially taking 21st century first world civilians and placing them in harsher conditions than we place highly trained and rigorously screened candidates for the US Navy submarine fleet. This is not to be underestimated; FEMA guidelines for disaster shelters are rumored to have been developed with an acceptance of a 10% suicide rate. What is the acceptable suicide rate for your sheltering group? If it is less than 10% then we would like to plan your shelter with more comfortable amenities than you would have in a FEMA specification quality of shelter.
In short, You simply cannot have a nuclear blast protected bunker which can sustain your family in a post apocalyptic event, for months and months, with air filtration, generators, water, food, storage, and hardening against small arms up to .50 BMG for the same price a standard home.
Generally, this is the point at which some potential clients depart from engaging our services. The projects we work on are usually over a half million dollars. This is not to say a lesser-cost project is impossible, but the challenges increase, and it does cause the design and engineering fees to become disproportionate to the project cost. For a project over $500k, the complete design and engineering package is roughly 10-12% of construction costs. For projects of $250k and less construction budget, the engineering costs do not come down in equal proportion to construction costs, and can exceed 15% of construction budget.
But what about those bunkers that are made entirely out of metal that you can find on the Internet for $39,990? Sure, these will work well in a very short-term scenario, but at what cost? If this is all you can afford, then it's better than nothing, and certainly well worth the price. However, some considerations should be noted from an engineer standpoint;
These may offer some utility in a certain scenario for a very limited duration; you can do your own research regarding the depth of soil cover required for plate steel to be enough to stop gamma waves (nuclear fallout). Be sure to confirm weight of the depth of fully water-saturated soil needed does not exceed the strength of the steel box. Is the price advertised inclusive of shipping, excavation, and utility infrastructure? If you need a place to go hide during the next LA riots and can be very sure no one will find and disable your source of electricity and/or water, you could be ok in a metal box shelter. Also these types of structures are acceptable if you are looking truly for just a tornado shelter then FEMA guidelines on how to construct one are perfectly acceptable as well, for potentially even greater cost savings.
Beyond the hardened structure, every client also needs a longevity plan. That being a plan for what to do after the major event subsides and how to maintain an ongoing posture of security and to transition forward into a new lifestyle. This includes everything from considerations for permaculture, childrearing, or mounting an active defense against numerically superior forces. A sophisticated team for fortified shelter design will include security consultants and be able to help plan the steps to take to set up life post event, and include provisions in the design for life afterwards.
What to expect when planning a Hardened Shelter:
There are several pre-design steps one can take to begin conceptualizing what will be needed to meet your goals in a hardened structure.
These are listed below:
You need to list the threats you are preparing to survive and then rank these in priority. These can be natural disasters, manmade events or others; this is your own list. A team will begin design to achieve protection for the most major event. By doing so, most often we find that we cover most needs presented by the threats further down the priority list, and we can make inclusion for those events in addition to the overall major planning criteria.
Given the identification of the most major event to protect against, what is the longest you want to remain interred in the shelter without exiting the structure.
You need to list the assets you are protecting, human assets and material assets. How many people is just part of the equation, who are these people, what are their individual special needs, and what is their relationship to one another?
Where and what are the site specifications? The aspects of regional demographics, site topography, terrain analysis, soil type, the adjacency relationships of your site to its neighboring properties, roads, towns, military installations, power stations, waterways, seismic faults, all contribute to a complex site development analysis process to help determine how to best protect our clients.
What are your group's abilities and limitations? This is an important criterion to really look hard at your entire group dynamics at the present and into the foreseeable future, and not based on the past. Maybe a member of your group has special medical skills. That training is most useful when provided with a facility and the equipment needed to perform those life saving skills. Or maybe someone in the group was a very accomplished athlete, but that was 20 plus years ago, or the person is most busy presently with small children who are also part of the group.
Given the identification of the most major event to protect against, what is the longest you want to remain interred in the shelter without exiting the structure?
Once these criteria are identified, they can be translated into performance goals for the Hardened Shelter, such as size, engineering and technology needed, and a list of spaces and special features.
Once this is determined, a team leader, architect, or project manager can then assemble the team of engineers needed to develop your Hardened Shelter. Also, this set of goals becomes a program statement, which you should receive from your design team, and review carefully. You should make sure all your needs are met in this program statement; otherwise, it is likely some of your goals for the shelter might not make it into the design. At this point, your designer may be able to communicate a rough conceptual budget for the project, based upon the program statement and his past experience with other projects. This early conceptual pricing statement has an accuracy of +/-20% because so much is not yet known with the design, and how the actual site impacts the cost of the project. However, it is very important at this early phase in the planning process that you check your goals vs. the possible budget for the project. This is the easiest time to readjust goals to align with your budget.
The adjustment of goals to match budget is a very difficult mental process for many clients, and here is another place where clients fall out of design services. Many folks just cannot get past the idea that if they cannot have everything they want for the budget that they had in mind, then the project is not worth doing at all.
This is not realistic thinking. We all make value choices in products everyday based on cost versus performance or quality. We do the best we can within our own priorities.
The important thing is to really look hard at your priorities from an aspect of most likely threat to protect against, and a worst-case threat you must protect against, and the minimum acceptable outcome of these two scenarios. With these goals as the guiding principles, often we can help clients focus on a budget that's realistic for the projects overall goals.
One example of this is duration of sheltering. Clients often come to us with the perception of a need to shelter continuously for many months. This criterion is very expensive to achieve both in terms of space required but also in logistics and energy provisions. However, there are alternatives to months of sheltering that can be considered and still have high expectations of survivability.
Once the design program aligns with your budget, your design team is able to move forward with planning your project.
This is an interactive process and you as the owner have a tremendous impact in the outcome. One temptation to resist is over designing. There are infinite possibilities in design, far more than there are choices in the marketplace when researching a new vehicle or appliance. However, exploring all of them is not realistic and it is important to remain focused on the goals of the project and accept standard construction practices as much possible.
With these concepts in mind, it is highly possible for you to be able to plan a Hardened Shelter with professional engineers which meets an adequate level of survivability metrics to ride-out many foreseeable SHTF scenarios, and allow you and your loved ones to emerge ready to take on the real challenges of life in the world after TEOTWAWKI.
HEMP/EMP Shielding
EMP Engineering can provide comprehensive and effective hardening, hardness verification and hardness surveillance of bomb shelters, buildings, facilities, hardened shelters, command/control centers, data processing centers and business continuity centers against the damaging effects of Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP), HEMP, GMS, or transportable High-Powered Microwave (HPM) weapons. The function of these facilities supporting critical time-urgent applications requiring network interoperability and effective physical protections, electromagnetic shielding, point of entry (POE) protection and related special protective measures. At EMP Engineering we offer cost effective solutions and full manufacturing capabilities for most any type of HEMP/EMP/GMS mitigated facility along with full hardened shelter design/build services. We are dedicated to the design and implementation of robust, hardened CBRN and EMP measures – including specialized shielding / mitigation, components and sub-systems, to prevent the harmful effects of intentional or unintentional Electromagnetic Pulses and Geomagnetic Storms.
To create a protective electromagnetic-threat facility shield requires an electromagnetic barrier with additional special protective measures that incorporate electrically continuous housings that substantially reduce the coupling of EMP electric and magnetic fields into the protected area. The electromagnetic barrier shall consist of the Facility HEMP Shield and protective devices for all POE’s. Additionally, reliability, maintainability, safety and human engineering, testability, configuration management and corrosion control all need to be incorporated to the HEMP protection system design.
To accomplish this goal, a Client specific Vulnerability identification/Hardness Program overview and criticality assessment must be conducted that incorporates design, engineering, fabrication, installation and ongoing effectiveness testing activities to achieve the following:
Provide an electromagnetic threat- protected facility or system design based upon verifiable performance specifications against identified threats that ideally suits the requirements of our clients.
Provides a means of verifying achieved hardness levels through a cost-effective program of testing and analysis.
Develop a maintenance/surveillance program during the procurement phase that supports the Client’s operational and life cycle HEMP hardness requirements.
Based on the anticipated threat, facility location and Client’s protection program establishes the HEMP configuration baseline consisting of documentation of the physical characteristics of the HEMP protection system, subsystem and baseline performance data.
Interested in Hiring us?
By their very nature, hardened shelters and underground bunkers require highly specific life safety and threat mitigation features in order to perform their primary mission: protecting your family. This is not a job for the average architect or the common contractor. Success requires a unique expertise in HEMP/EMP, WMD’s, blast effects mitigation, adversarial assaults, shelter dynamics, threat mitigation measures, advanced HVAC systems, structural steel/concrete and earth work operations.
We mitigate various threats by employing a Multi-Hazard Engineering methodology that not only recognizes individual hazards/threats sequentially but also address all hazards/threats simultaneously as a problem of optimization under constraints. The facility/shelter/building can be protected against a wide range of threats including WMD’s, forced entry, armed assaults, climate change, chemical, biological, radiological, explosive (CBRE) agents, airblast, ground shock, penetration, fragmentation and damage to the structure and equipment due to explosive loading.
Chemical, Biological and Radiological Protective Measures
Ventilation, Air Filtration and Sorbent Filtering Systems
Sustainable, Alternative, Climatic and Solar Energy Designs
Budgeting and Estimating
Permitting and Local Jurisdiction Approval
Full Construction Contracting
Long Term Survivability, Food Storage and Equipment
Shelter Commissioning
Client Move-in and Start-up
As Professional Architects and Engineers, Security Specialists, Project Managers and Ex-Navy SEALs with over 30 years in shelter construction experience, our approach methodology is to professionally and confidentially complete the designs, and covertly construct the facility while ALWAYS working in the best interest of our Clients.
The Hardened Structures Team analyzes all options for shelter construction including concrete, steel, fiberglass or composites to find the best fit for our client’s unique shelter, sustainability and funding requirements and implement a design/build program for that particular client. Experience has shown there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to Shelter construction. Simply stated, we work for you as your private Facility Staff providing single point responsibility for the fast and efficient delivery of your Facility in a stealthy and secret atmosphere.
Our experience has proved that the basic fundamental rule necessary to successfully execute Covert Construction and Clandestine Contracting techniques is “Need to Know.” The level of secrecy is established by our Client and is a direct determinant affecting the overall cost.
Our services can range from complete design and build to working directly with your preferred architect and / or contractor to provide specific consulting services.
We can bring in our own specialized workers and we have perfected the protection process to ensure that no one subcontractor or supplier will fully know the final function or true capability of our Client’s facility. Some of the techniques we employ include:
Compartmentalized and Furtive Construction Scopes
Phased Critical Path Construction Techniques
Specialized Out-Of-Town Subcontractors and Suppliers
Multiple Surreptitious Project Identifications
Correlated CAD Drawings and Specifications
And Other Time Tested (and Secret) Clandestine Strategies
Project
Table of Contents
1. Summary of Client Interview and Site Visit.
a. Project Mission Statement
b. Client’s threat concerns / Types of threats
i. Human threat, motivations and actions, ballistic level
ii. Natural threats
1. Severe Storms, Hurricanes and Tornados
2. Wild Fires
iii. Geopolitical threats
iv. Threat types excluded from design criteria.
c. Client’s assets to protect.
i. Human assets
ii. Material assets
d. Overview of The Site
i. Size, location, maps, terrain, vegetation, climate, annual rainfall, average high
and low temps, maximum storm forces.
ii. Likely avenues of approach
iii. Local crime activity
iv. Proximity to military installations, nuclear targets, danger from storms
1. Nuclear Targeting and Fallout shadow
a. Prevailing wind direction, average speed, resultant shelter –inplace
recommendation.
v. Supporting Statistics for Natural and Man-made Hazards
2. Recommendations
a. Recommendations for the built environment
i. Hardened Home design program
1. Space programming list
2. Modern Home Design Aesthetic Examples
3. Hardened Technologies to employ in home design
a. Forced Entry Resistance and Ballistic Protection
b. Active Defense enhancements to design
c. CBRN Air Filtration overpressure system
d. Severe storm / high winds protection.
e. Overlapping benefits of program requirements into other areas
of threat protection.
4. Clean water, human sanitation.
a. Well water systems
i. Back up pumps
ii. Tanks and gravity feed systems
iii. Water source hardening and filtration.
iv. Grey water systems
5. Energy Efficient Design Performance
a. Passive House – German Derived Energy Efficiency Standards
i. Insulation, air sealing and windows
ii. Energy Recovery Ventilation with Whole House air
filtration
iii. Ductless mini-split heat pump systems
iv. High efficiency water heating systems
v. Wood Heat with integral or separate water heating/
radiant floor
6. Grid Tied Energy – Electrical energy hardening
7. Off Grid Energy
a. Diesel and Gas Generators
i. 1800 vs 3600 rpm models at equal KW ratings.
ii. Preliminary Generator sizing fuel consumption rates
and tank sizing
b. Renewable energy sources, Wood, Wind, Solar, micro hydro etc.
i. Wood gasification to run generators.
ii. Hardened Shelter Design
1. Hardened Shelter Space Planning Program
2. Hardened Shelter Structural systems
3. Hardened Shelter Mechanical Systems
4. Hardened Shelter Electrical Systems
b. Recommendations for site development
i. Concentric rings of security concept and applications to client site
ii. Site clearing/grading tactical and wild fire defensible space criteria.
iii. Limiting likely avenues of enemy approach
iv. Escape, evacuation, caches and counter offensives.
c. Recommendations for site and for early warning/detection
d. Recommendations for active and passive defense
e. Recommendations for provisioning and training of group members
3. Preliminary Cost Model
4. Project Plan of Action
5. Overall Project Schedule
6. Concluding remarks
7. Additional references
8. Appendixes to report
a. EMP Threat Summary Narrative
Client confidentiality, Project Secrecy / Security, Clandestine Construction
By their very nature, HARDENED shelters, facilities and underground bunkers require highly specific life safety and threat mitigation features in order to perform their primary mission. This is not a job for the common contractor¹.
To be successful, HARDENED construction requires unique engineering expertise in WMD's, blast effects mitigation, adversarial assaults, shelter dynamics, threat mitigation measures, advanced HVAC systems, structural concrete / steel and earth work operations.
The Hardened Structures Team analyzes all options for shelter construction including concrete, steel, fiberglass or composites to find the best fit for our client's unique shelter, sustainability and funding requirements and implement a design / build program for that particular client. Experience has shown there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to Shelter construction. Simply stated, we work for you as your private Facility Staff providing single point responsibility for the fast and efficient delivery of your Facility in a stealthy and secret atmosphere.
Our experience has proved that the basic fundamental rule necessary to successfully execute Covert Construction and Clandestine Contracting techniques is "Need to Know." The level of secrecy is established by our Client and is a direct determinant affecting the overall cost.
Our services can range from complete design¹ and build² to working directly with your preferred architect and / or contractor to provide specific consulting services.
We can bring in our own specialized workers and we have perfected the protection process to ensure that no one subcontractor or supplier will fully know the final function or true capability of our Client's facility. Some of the techniques we employ include:
Compartmentalized and Furtive Construction Scopes
Phased Critical Path Construction Techniques
Specialized Out-Of-Town Subcontractors and Suppliers
Multiple Surreptitious Project Identifications
Correlated CAD Drawings and Specifications
The importance of Client Confidentiality and Project Secrecy/Security cannot be overstated. We serve as our Client's Agent and Representative by implementing and enforcing Client/Project specific security and confidentiality parameters throughout the Design, Planning, and Construction Process.
¹ All construction contracting is performed by independent, specially trained, fully-licensed general contractors.
² All design is performed by independent, licensed and specially trained architectural and engineering firms.
Thorough preparation enables Hardened Structures to deliver a solution perfectly tailored to our client needs.
A Hardened Structure Facility can be constructed in most localities, urban, suburban or rural. By its nature, a Hardened Structure is usually designed to perform its PRIMARY MISSION both during and after a war-like or criminal attack, a major natural disaster, or accidental / man-made emergencies.
We address these challenges by employing a Multi-Hazard Engineering methodology in our design and planning stages that not only recognizes individual hazards/threats sequentially, but also address all hazards/threats simultaneously as a problem of optimization under constraints. A Hardened Structures facility can be designed to protected against a wide range of threats including:
Fragmentation and damage to the structure and equipment due to explosive loading
Penetration
"HARDENING" a primary requirement and a significant part of the cost.
Along with the Client's particular living, function and storage requirements, designs can also incorporate active defense and manned and mechanical responses to reduce the effectiveness of any given threat while providing for individual/family long term living requirements.
All design work is performed by specially trained independent professional engineering firms. These independent firms provide specialized design services as part of the Hardened Structures Team.
Hardened Structures Hardened Shelters LLC is a Design & Construction Program Management firm.
Our Team consists of a core group of Independent, specially trained shelter design firms for the architectural design, structural engineering, blast engineering, EMP / HEMP shielding, CBRN, HVAC, electrical and alternative energy designs.
Reference Standards for Shelter Design include FEMA 453, "Design and Guidance for Shelters and Safe Rooms", along with Swiss Government publications on shelter design.
All construction is performed by a special group of geographically specific licensed general contractors. These independent design firms and general contractors have had specialized shelter design and build training before they can become part of the "Hardened Structures Team".
The Hardened Structures Team has successfully delivered shelter projects world-wide for over 21 years.
The Hardened Structures Project Development Process
Hardened Structures uses a Balanced Survivability approach to mitigate the full spectrum of risks.
The first steps in determining the feasibility of constructing a Hardened Structure in a specific location is to completely understand the client's priorities/goals/budget, thoroughly examine the site and its surroundings, be fully aware of all regulatory agencies having jurisdiction and to conduct a full Risk Assessment. Once this information has been assimilated, the development of the Hardened Structures Feasibility Study can be completed and submitted. This study is a condition precedent to establishing a Program of Requirements, which then allows the Client to modify the Program or continue to the next phases. The planning, design and construction of a Hardened Structure is technically specific, complex, and is executed through the following phases:
Client Interview/Site Assessment
Feasibility Study "Personal Protection Plan"
Client Feedback on Protection Plan
Project Program Design Narrative
Design Documents¹
Client Review/Comment/Approval of Design documents
Technical Construction documents and equipment specification
Because it is impossible to protect against all threats and hazards, adopting a balanced approach in designs that considers intended functions, threat mitigation and budget is imperative. There is no one-size-fits-all and there is no formula of security features and programs that will ensure 100% safety against all violent attacks or natural disasters. Designers and owners must understand the limitations of designed facilities and proposed countermeasures. Mitigating measures or countermeasures are specified to meet a particular anticipated threat, not all possible threats. At Hardened Structures, our teams design your facility to achieve a Balanced Survivability, ensuring that no one system or component is the "Achilles heel." No matter if it is a regional natural disaster, nuclear and/or EMP event, armed assaults, or any civilization altering scenario, our experienced teams of architects, engineers and project managers can design and construct your facility efficiently, covertly, and cost effectively.
¹ All design is performed by independent, licensed and specially trained architects and engineering firms.
² All construction contracting is performed by independent, specially trained, fully-licensed general contractors.
Factors such as site selection, building location of the site, use of fences and clear space, as well as vegetation and structural reinforcements are all critical to protecting a building and its occupants from various threats. Incorporating protection into a facility's design is the best way to achieve a desired level of protection at a reasonable cost. Patrick Lindsey of the Protective Design Center summarizes many of the key features and considerations to be accounted for, and introduces the DOD resources available.
The AMPTIAC Quarterly
Volume 6, Number 4
DOD Protective Design Manuals Have Wide Application
Introduction
Many manuals are available within the DOD to aid engineers
in the design of facilities subjected to blast loadings from
bombs. Facility design in consideration of exterior blast loadings
starts with locating a site that is adequate for the facility
and level of protection required. The design basis threat (as
defined by the installation master planning team) identifies the
weapons, tools and tactics that could be used in an attack
against the facility. The site or master planners then review the
site plan and the design basis threat to determine if the amount
of standoff distance that is available can provide a proper level
of protection. The planners will then incorporate the use of
controlled and non-controlled perimeters, locate appropriate
exclusion or non-exclusion zones, define the standoff distances,
and identify facility clear zones. They will also locate the facility's
entry control points for vehicles and personnel. Should the
site be inadequate for a structure built with standard construction
techniques, then blast loadings will need to be accounted
for to give the facility the same level of protection at the
reduced standoff distance.
Background History of Standards
Military Hardened Structures Progression
Since the invention of dynamite by Alfred Nobel in 1866, blast
effects on structures have been observed. In 1870, Rankine and
Hugoniot published their analytical solution to normal shocks
in an ideal gas and these relationships have formed the foundation
for studying gas dynamics and the interaction of shock
waves with structures. It is well known that internal blasts are
more damaging than exterior blast effects as the shock and gas
pressure combine to act on the structure.
In the last 50 years, the engineering units within the Military
developed many mathematical models to capture the structural
interaction with blast waves. After World War II, these models
started to show development when damage levels for masonry
structures we re correlated to crater size, crater location, and
explosive weights used in bombing runs. Damage level was a
measure of the amount of structure remaining based on the blast
pressure and impulse the structure experienced from those
bombs. From those early days of the 1950's other observations
were noted that relate the many blast parameters to scaling laws,
thus making it easy for engineers to develop models for predicting
categories of damage based on: weight of explosive, range,
and type of structure. The 1950's were also the beginning of the
nuclear age, and many design ideas were developed during this
era. A lot of the bunker mentality commonly associated with
explosive effects came from this time period.
Anybody who has handled explosives knows the dangers
associated with that endeavor, as many accidents have occurred
as a result of their handling. A vast amount of knowledge was
acquired from accident investigations of catastrophic events. To
protect personnel, a Tri-Service group from the Army, Navy
and Air Force was formed to develop a manual to give engineers
a procedure that lets them design "Structures to Resist the
Effects of Accidental Explosions" (commonly known as technical
manual TM 5-1300). The primary purpose of the manual
is to present methods for protective construction used in facilities
for the development, testing, production, storage, maintenance,
modification, inspection, demilitarization, and disposal
of explosive materials. This manual was used as the standard for
explosive effects for about thirty years. By using this manual,
engineers could design structures to resist the effects of blast
waves and fragments preventing the propagation of explosive
effects from one structure to the next, or to prevent the mass
detonation of explosives and provide protection to personnel
and valuable equipment. Instrumental to this approach was a
well-developed understanding of:
the blast load parameters
the response of structures to blast loads
how to establish proper details for construction to develop the proper structural response
establishing guidelines for siting explosives facilities.
Technical manual TM 5-855-1, "Fundamentals of Protective
Design for Conventional Weapons" also came out of the post-
World War II era. While this manual is dedicated to the design
of structures to resist conventional weapons, during the 1970's
great advances were made in the area of numerical modeling of
nuclear weapon effects. These include the effects of dynamic
response of aboveground, and belowground structures to airblast,
blast-induced ground shock, cratering, and the response
of various materials to these effects. These modeling techniques
were then applied to the conventional weapons arena and the
manual has been updated several times since its original printing.
This manual and TM 5-1300 deal with primarily concrete
and steel structures, but not everybody works in those types of
structures. Additional work has produced more data on how
conventional construction responds to blast loads and that data
has been incorporated into the new design guidance.
After the Marine barracks bombing in Beirut, Lebanon in
1983, the DOD looked for a group to develop procedures that
could be implemented to prevent this type of incident from
recurring. The Army established the Corps of Engineers
Protective Design Center to take on this mission and its main
purpose was to provide physical security and antiterrorism protection
to military assets. The first document created by this
group was called the Security Engineering Manual, which
became the TM 5-853 series of manuals on security engineering.
Much of the blast and fragment technology developed for
TM 5-1300 and TM 5-855-1 had direct application to the area
of security engineering. Within this series of manuals, aggressors,
weapons, tools and explosives are defined to develop a
design basis threat against specific assets. With this information
protective measures are designed to counter these threats and
protect the defined assets.
The physical security portion is that part of security concerned
with physical measures designed to safeguard personnel;
prevent or delay unauthorized access to equipment, installations,
material, and documents; and to safeguard against
espionage, damage, and theft. Prior to this period, many of the
regulations were not interrelated or tied to design procedures,
and at times it was difficult to determine what level of protection
was being provided for an asset. This manual brought
threats and protective measures together as a security engineering
design procedure, balancing the design basis threat against
the level of protection.
The antiterrorism aspects of facility design are the defensive
measures used to reduce the vulnerability of individuals and
property to terrorist attacks and often include a limited
response and containment of the aggressor by local military
forces, or a response force. Therefore, security engineering is
the process of identifying practical, risk-managed short and
long-term solutions to reduce and/or mitigate dynamic manmade
hazards by integrating multiple factors, including
construction, equipment, manpower, and procedures.
The Hardened Structures independent design and engineering teams have the unique experience and technical know-how to design, engineer, and construct specialized shelter systems in the most demanding environments and operational conditions anywhere in the world. We work closely with the client to understand their needs and design systems to mitigate any known threat.
Because it is impossible to protect against all threats and hazards, adopting a "balanced approach" in designs that considers intended functions, threat mitigation, and budget, is imperative. This is where Hardened Structures experience and know-how separates our Team from the general purpose Architects and Engineers. Our Teams experience has shown there is no one-size-fits-all or formula of security features and programs that will ensure 100% safety against all manmade or natural disasters. In order to meet our client's goals and budgets, our Team ensures each project is designed and specified to meet a particular hierarchy of anticipated threats, not all possible threats. In other words, Hardened Structures' Team designs your facility to achieve what we term 'Balanced Survivability', ensuring that no one system or component is the 'Achilles Heel.' No matter if your personal threat hierarchy focuses first and foremost on a regional natural disaster, Nuclear, Biological, Chemical or EMP/HEMP event, or forced/armed entry our experienced and highly specialized team of engineers, scientists and ex-Navy SEALS can confidentiality design and covertly construct your facility efficiently and cost effectively.
