A study of form-principles affording shielding from atomic fallout

Abstract

The United States Department of Defense-Office of Civil Defense has for several years trained architects and engineers in the design of structures to resist atomic blast and for the protection from gamma radiation (hereinafter called "fallout"). The D.O.D.-O.C.D. program, for the moat part, has placed emphasis on methods of calculating "attenuation", which is a measurement of the reduction of radiation through masses of shielding materials, through distance and other means. The calculations determine the amount of shielding afforded by a given structure or design situation; and thus assess that structure's acceptability as a fallout shelter. Thus far, this pragmatic approach has usually resulted in rather strict, utilitarian solutions in the design of shelters, many of which would tend to produce claustrophobia and panic. For example, in the one publication of the D.O.D.-O.C.D. to date showing case studies of shelters incorporated into hypothetical buildings, two out of four examples shown are basement shelters, and none of the four permit any natural light or natural ventilation. None succeed in making the space functional and inhabitable primarily for its normal day-to-day use without having foreboding shelter connotations. None of the four case studies permit any psychological outlets, several of which are possible, such as a) Occupants may be permitted secondary contact with the outside through indirect natural light and direct sound; b) Occupants may, by stepping around a corner, be able to see directly out with minor exposure; c) Occupants may even be permitted a complete exposure to the out-of-doors for a moment without endangering the other shelter occupants. All of this is feasible and desirable. It appears that designing for fallout will be an increasing factor in all types of structures in the foreseeable future. To assist architects with such design problems, this thesis is being written to investigate certain form-principles supplementing those generally used in shelter design. It also tests the validity of these form-principles through application of the D.O.D.-O.C.D. procedures to provide architects with positive design tools in this specialized field of design. Finally, it shows the incorporation of the form-principles into a hypothetical design.