Tornado shelter design and the architectural design studio

Conceptual design ideas for property damage mitigation and life safety by architectural design students are presented in three building types: assisted living centers (new and retrofit retirement facilities), mobile home parks and their dwelling units, and elementary/secondary schools. The work—part conventional/part inventive—tests ideas of technology transfer and simulations of natural forms (for instance, aerodynamic forms) as alternative approaches. Design solutions address the problems at three scales: sites/landscape, the buildings themselves, and shelter designs. Designs suggest that landscape and building design could be effective at mitigating damage to property and life above ground. Shelter areas were most inventive and designed for 100% safety combining transfer technologies with construction designs that have been proven effective through tests with the missile launch cannon of the Wind Engineering Research Center testing laboratory.