Post by corsair67 on Jun 14, 2006 10:15:31 GMT 12
I think this bloke is a little off with the pixies! 
It'd probably make a great (although expensive) wine cellar. ;D
From today's Christchurch Press
Bunker built in Avonhead
14 June 2006
By ARWEN HANN.
"If he was going to rush here and dive down the hole in the event of a nuclear holocaust, he would have to be quick." John Hindle, Avonhead resident.
A Japanese man has built an underground bunker, capable of withstanding a nuclear strike, in the garden of his Christchurch home.
Despite not living in the Avonhead house, Reiitsu Anamizu has built a 44sq m concrete bunker with armoured blast-proof doors designed to Swiss Civil Defence standards – thought to be some of the toughest in the world.
Resource consent was granted last year after the city council advised Anamizu's agents that it would be needed because the building exceeded the council's 9m length limit.
The finished building was given a code of compliance in March.
Plans lodged with the council show stairs leading down to the bunker from an entrance next to the garage in the back garden. Inside the bunker there are battery-operated lights, a hand-pumped water purifier and a ventilation shaft.
Agents and lawyers who completed the resource consent on behalf of Anamizu last year said they did not know if he intended to live in the house. They had not been in contact with him for some time.
They described him as a very private person and would not say if he had explained to them what he wanted the bunker for. The house is currently rented.
A brochure accompanying Anamizu's application said the bunker could be used as a cellar or storage facility, but would also be suitable for human occupation in an earthquake, a terrorist attack, a whirlwind, fire or nuclear attack.
Tim Davies, a lecturer on the University of Canterbury's hazards and disasters course, said the bunker would be of use only if Anamizu could get inside it in time.
"It sounds a little bit extreme to me. It would be useful in the case of an earthquake, for example, as I assume it would not collapse, and in a terrorist attack," he said.
"However, you do not generally get any warning of these things, so it would all depend on how quickly he could get inside."
Neighbour John Hindle said he could see the stairs leading down into the bunker from over his fence, and when the bunker had been built last year he watched its construction with interest.
"I haven't been inside it, but it started as a huge hole – about the size of three rooms," he said.
"We thought it was a wee bit weird. He's not a resident of New Zealand, and if he was going to rush here and dive down the hole in the event of a nuclear holocaust, he would have to be quick."
When the bunker was being dug, several concerned neighbours contacted the council to make sure it was above board and to complain about the vibrations from machinery, Hindle said.
"The whole house was shaking, so we contacted the council to ask what was going on. They said a shelter is going in," he said.
Hindle had not met Anamizu, and his house tenants had kept quiet on the bunker, he said.
The tenants declined to speak to The Press.
It'd probably make a great (although expensive) wine cellar. ;D
From today's Christchurch Press
Bunker built in Avonhead
14 June 2006
By ARWEN HANN.
"If he was going to rush here and dive down the hole in the event of a nuclear holocaust, he would have to be quick." John Hindle, Avonhead resident.
A Japanese man has built an underground bunker, capable of withstanding a nuclear strike, in the garden of his Christchurch home.
Despite not living in the Avonhead house, Reiitsu Anamizu has built a 44sq m concrete bunker with armoured blast-proof doors designed to Swiss Civil Defence standards – thought to be some of the toughest in the world.
Resource consent was granted last year after the city council advised Anamizu's agents that it would be needed because the building exceeded the council's 9m length limit.
The finished building was given a code of compliance in March.
Plans lodged with the council show stairs leading down to the bunker from an entrance next to the garage in the back garden. Inside the bunker there are battery-operated lights, a hand-pumped water purifier and a ventilation shaft.
Agents and lawyers who completed the resource consent on behalf of Anamizu last year said they did not know if he intended to live in the house. They had not been in contact with him for some time.
They described him as a very private person and would not say if he had explained to them what he wanted the bunker for. The house is currently rented.
A brochure accompanying Anamizu's application said the bunker could be used as a cellar or storage facility, but would also be suitable for human occupation in an earthquake, a terrorist attack, a whirlwind, fire or nuclear attack.
Tim Davies, a lecturer on the University of Canterbury's hazards and disasters course, said the bunker would be of use only if Anamizu could get inside it in time.
"It sounds a little bit extreme to me. It would be useful in the case of an earthquake, for example, as I assume it would not collapse, and in a terrorist attack," he said.
"However, you do not generally get any warning of these things, so it would all depend on how quickly he could get inside."
Neighbour John Hindle said he could see the stairs leading down into the bunker from over his fence, and when the bunker had been built last year he watched its construction with interest.
"I haven't been inside it, but it started as a huge hole – about the size of three rooms," he said.
"We thought it was a wee bit weird. He's not a resident of New Zealand, and if he was going to rush here and dive down the hole in the event of a nuclear holocaust, he would have to be quick."
When the bunker was being dug, several concerned neighbours contacted the council to make sure it was above board and to complain about the vibrations from machinery, Hindle said.
"The whole house was shaking, so we contacted the council to ask what was going on. They said a shelter is going in," he said.
Hindle had not met Anamizu, and his house tenants had kept quiet on the bunker, he said.
The tenants declined to speak to The Press.
