Scorpio House is a system of atomic-proof shelters developed by BXB studio. The uniqueness of our solution lies in redefining shelters as more than just a temporary safety investment.
Iconic Awards 2024 Winner distinction – in the category: Innovative Architecture – Interiors!
The innovative design of Scorpio House shelters, designed by Bogus?aw Barna? and the BXB studio team, received the Iconic Awards 2024 Winner distinction – in the category: Innovative Architecture – Interiors.
The organizer of the Iconic Awards is the German Design Council – an organization established in 1953 by the German Parliament. Every year, it rewards designers from around the world who create innovative and visionary architecture.
The awards gala took place on October 8 at the BMW Welt building in Munich.
Scorpio House – An Innovative Design
Scorpio House is an atomic-proof shelter system developed by BXB studio. Its uniqueness stems from redefining shelters, not as investments only useful during times of crisis.
Scorpio House is a luxury product, enjoyed daily, similar to a sports car or family yacht. Just as utilitarian transport ships have evolved into luxury yachts, we’ve elevated the utilitarian nuclear bunker into a luxurious space where one can pursue passions and dreams.
It’s a modular, easy-to-transport, and quick-to-implement system that can be configured at BXB studio, much like buying a new car model. Using standardized elements, we can create any size or function, such as a wine cellar, home theater, music room, luxury spa, or meeting space. Simultaneously, it is an NBC (nuclear, biological, and chemical) resistant space that ensures safety during pandemics, natural disasters, and war.
The scorpion, the largest creature capable of surviving a nuclear attack, inspired our system’s name. We began work on a traditional shelter of over 400 square meters for the first time in 2014, during the construction of a large residence. Over the years, we observed clients’ reluctance to invest significant amounts in shelters, which are designed never to be used. This led us to redefine the concept of shelters as a more accessible, luxurious, and multifunctional product. Thus, Scorpio House was born, based on our experience and extensive expertise.
Scorpio House is a project developed by the entire BXB studio team, including the technical, creative, interior design, and managerial departments. Today, we can confidently say that we specialize not only in designing traditional buildings, homes, and residences but also in creating shelters.
Interiors of Scorpio House
The advanced technology of the Scorpio House shelter is discreetly hidden and imperceptible to daily users. The interior designs are unique, welcoming spaces filled with natural light, materials, and even greenery. Through careful design, we create diverse environments suited to different functions, generating the atmosphere of morning, afternoon, evening, or night. We simulate the intensity and color of light and build the appropriate acoustics and ambiance for each room. Furthermore, Scorpio House interiors offer flexible space configurations that allow rooms to serve multiple functions, such as a bedroom, wine cellar, meeting room, or home theater. Smaller versions of Scorpio House have ergonomic spaces optimized with thoughtfully designed layouts and carefully selected furniture.
Our project addresses an important social issue. Through the Scorpio House system, we transform the emotional character of shelters, previously associated with negativity. You could say we are demystifying dark war bunkers, giving shelters a more human, accessible, and everyday dimension. Scorpio House completely changes perceptions of shelters, even creating a trend for owning them. This, in turn, will encourage private investments in such structures, significantly increasing the safety of communities during crises, not only during armed attacks but also extreme weather events or pandemics. It’s worth noting that some countries, such as Switzerland and Finland, can provide shelter space for all their citizens. Sweden has shelters for 70% of the population, Norway for 50%, while geopolitically disadvantaged Poland provides shelter for only 3.8% of its population.
Currently, legislative work is underway to improve this situation in Poland. The Prime Minister’s Office has announced that the construction of private shelters and temporary hiding places will be exempt from formal permits. The amendment to the Building Law has been added to the list of government legislative and programmatic works, with the Ministry of Development and Technology working on it. The new regulations are set to come into effect on July 1, 2024.
About Bogus?aw Barna? (BXB studio)
Bogus?aw Barna? is one of Poland’s most awarded architects. He graduated in Architecture from the Cracow University of Technology and the Fachhochschule Münster. In 2009, he founded BXB studio after working in London for Norman Foster, one of the most prominent architects of our time.
Barna? was ranked among the top 20 architects by the British magazine Wallpaper*. He is the creator of the Polish Farmhouse – the most awarded house from Poland globally, and the Podcieniowa Cottage, recognized as the most beautiful house in the world with accolades such as the Global Design Award, German Design Award, and European Property Award. He is also the architect of the Krakow Tenement under Wawel, recognized as the best hotel in the world by the Italian magazine The PLAN. In 2023, Barna? won the prestigious SARP Year Award, one of Poland’s most important architectural awards.
This project is already published on https://bxbstudio.com/project/scorpio-house-2/
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