Hunker down in the zombie-proof Safe House (pictures)
Raise the drawbridge, retract the walls, close the shutters, and put a few movies on in KWK Promes' Safe House as "Return of the Living Dead" plays out in your garden.
Tim Hornyak
Crave freelancer Tim Hornyak is the author of "Loving the Machine: The Art and Science of Japanese Robots." He has been writing about Japanese culture and technology for a decade. E-mail Tim.
Polish architecture firm KWK Promes built the boxy Safe House outside Warsaw in 2009, with little thought to the idea that it could serve as a refuge from zombies. With creepy cannibalistic attacks in the news, however, it seems a perfect hideaway because it can transform into a near-impregnable fortress.
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Open concept
Safe House has two modes -- open and closed. In open mode, seen here, the windows are open to the surrounding garden, and plenty of sunlight comes in.
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The courtyard
The house's motorized side walls move outward and join the roadside wall, forming a courtyard. Visitors can be held here until the residents can see who they are and let them in.
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Block with a view
The minimalist interior opens to the garden, which becomes an extension of the living room.
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The monolith at night
In the evening, the Safe House and its adjacent indoor pool glow with light before everything shuts for the night.
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Raising the drawbridge
Konieczny's clients wanted security above all, and the most striking feature of the house is its ability to transform. When the house enters closed mode, a drawbridge to the pool roof goes up, preventing outside access to the second floor.
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Battening down
The enormous rear shutter rolls down, sealing off the interior from the garden.
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Transformations
Meanwhile, the large upstairs swing shut and the side walls retract, sealing off everyone inside from potential threats.
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Impregnable
The Safe House becomes a concrete block in closed mode, so while zombies can bay for brains outside, you'll be nice and cozy within.
"The whole building is a concrete monolith, while its mobile parts -- for the sake of considerable size -- are light steel trusses filled with mineral wool," KWK Promes says. "As a result, the building is perfectly insulated when closed."
