Well survivors some made it before I did, an almost perfect safe house. Of course the house, designed by KWK Promes has it's issues but in general it is an amazing start: and frankly, would you rather be in your current house or this when the end comes? Details on the house are easy to find so I won't go on about it too much here. Rather let us look at the house from a practical point of view and see what improvements must be made.
Solar panels and fenced in farm land make the house quite self sufficient. There is even room for a small vegetable garden on the roof should the fences be breached. Added improvements in this area though should include an indoor well and water filtration system, and a back-up generator. Because the biggest problem with this house is that if the power goes out it is nothing but glass between you and the zeds or worse you may be trapped inside the house with no way out.
The one side of the building with is a metal sheet instead of concrete could use reinforcement of some kind, perhaps bars on the inside of the wall while it is closed. And while the walls are closed there should be some back-up way out. Roof access with a rope ladder would even be enough. Ramparts on the roof would also had to defensibility. Raiders and gangs will want this place for their own and so zombies may be the least of the owner's threats. Being able to fight back from the roof will give the defenders some way to hold the raiders off instead of waiting for them to blow a hole in one of the doors. Or if they use any thought at all, bring a ladder and scale the walls; all while the owners are tucked inside unaware. To this end though, in addition to ramparts, the roof entrance and basement entrance (which I'll get to) should be booby-trapped.
While the house does have a panic room it does not have a basement. Many people argue for or against basements, and not just for zombie defence. I am in favor of basements. Basements are by no means the ideal place to make a stand but it is always good for the smart survivor to have another option. If you are being slowly driven back at least you know there is nothing in the basement to attack you from behind, where as making it outside (while preferable) may mean exposing yourself to more dangers then taking a last stand (snipers, attacks from multiple directions, losing the safe house and supplies, exposure to zombies, etc.) A basement is also the ideal place to store things like canned food, extra water, a generator, a well. Things that do not need to be used multiple times a day but only need to be accessed when they are actually needed. Extra ammo, weapons and tools can also be located here. Not too mention in the event of a natural disaster the safest place to be, even in a safe house, is the basement. So my biggest complaint about this safe house is the lack of a basement, in favor of a swimming pool?
I don't know if the swimming pool was instead of other things but it is not top of the list for things needed. However it may be more useful then at first glance. A pool can help with fitness and fighting boredom to a great extent, definitely enough to make it worth while. If the water isn't salted or chlorine based it can also be used for additional water in emergencies. However I would pick many other things before inserting the pool, including any of the improvements I mention in this post.
Of course for a bigger group more space would be needed, perhaps a third floor or another section but for the most part I think this building is large enough to keep one or two families very safe after the fall. The interior is wide and mostly open, which means if anything manages to get in before the doors can close it will instantly be in a killing ground if the owners are positioned on the second floor to shoot down at cross angles. The bedrooms and panic room can also provide defensible positions if the number of enemies is large enough to swarm the main open areas. And that is basically my summary of the zombie safe house by KWK Promes.
UPDATE: Here's a little info for you would be "safe house" builders. I got in touch with KWK and the Safe House costs 3 million Euro. That's over 4.120 million Canadian or about 4.216 million American. So my title is obviously a little off.
Stay vigilant, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate, Mike D.
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