Industrial, Institutional, Commercial and Infrastructure Hardened Shelters

Industrial, institutional, commercial, and infrastructure hardened shelter projects are hardened buildings such as data and telecommunication/system control centers, embassies, hospitals and medical facilities, banks and other financial institutions, government agency buildings, schools, police and fire stations, military related buildings, factories and offices that contain physical assets and people who work in the buildings.  Hardened shelters are designed to protect critical assets 24/7/365 and the people who occupy them and can be new buildings and/or additions or renovations to existing facilities.   They are designed and built to comply with the local governing building codes connected to public utility systems for water, sewer, power, etc. and with some facilities having emergency back-up power systems for a short duration.   For these types of hardened shelter projects, we can provide long term duration emergency power / utility systems and where feasible, provide permanent off-grid utility systems.   

Industrial, institutional, commercial, and infrastructure hardened shelters are built to protect against the following threats:

  • Nuclear blast and radioactive fallout.

  • Biological and chemical attack.

  • Military ordnance such as bombs, rockets, missiles, artillery (crew served big guns, howitzers, or mortars), and in close-quarters combat assault weapons.

  • EMP/HEMP attack.

  • EF5 tornados (300+mph wind / 482 kmh wind speed).

  • Category 5 hurricanes (sustained wind speeds of 157+ mph / 253 kmh).

  • Fire, wildfires, and firestorms.

  • Earthquakes.

  • Rockfalls.

  • Avalanches.

  • Mobs and riots, civil unrest.

Factors to consider when designing an industrial or institutional hardened shelter:

  1. What is the threat criteria (what are the threats to protect against?)

  2. How many people for how long to be in the shelter off-grid? 

  3. Available space for the shelter?

  4. What is the budget for the project? 

Amenities and level of comfort

Industrial and institutional hardened shelters are generally designed for a large number of people and long term off-grid self-sustaining occupancy. Amenities and level of comfort can vary based upon space and budget constraints with functionality and survivability driving the design criteria.