Page 231 - Beyond Decommissioning

212 Beyond Decommissioning

is, the contamination from substances like trichloroethylene, a clear liquid used to
clean the metal parts of rockets engines. A range of bunker reuses, including schools,
museums, etc. are also described by Recycle Nation (2010a,b).
In the UK, a bunker outside Twyford, near Winchester, was created out of an old
water reservoir, and was designed as a communications base for Southern Water staff
to restore a safe water supply after a nuclear attack. In the 1980s, water was considered
essential to maintain, especially the deep underground wells which would have
remained uncontaminated by fallout. The building has 2.5-m thick concrete walls
and a 15-cm thick steel door.
The Twyford bunker was completed in 1990 when the Cold War had already
started to fade away. As the engineering contract had already been committed to
the bunker remained operational until 1997 when it was decommissioned. Since then,
it had been used by computer companies for data storage. Expected problems for the
sale as a home included environmental permits and the need for extensive re-flooring,
rewiring, etc. However, advantages included uniqueness and the prestige image;
besides, the bunker had good ceiling height. Anyhow, the redevelopment needed a
lot of imagination. The bunker was eventually sold in late 2008 for £240,000
(BBC, 2009).
Once a dark and secretly used structure, the Commonwealth’s Communications
Center (nicknamed “the bunker”) is now a naturally lit open space for the staff of
the Australian Greenhouse Office. The bunker’s refit was based on an environmen-
tally sustainable design. The underground location of the Communication Center
had provided already a naturally insulated, energy-saving environment. Originally
steel-lined to provide electronic security, the ceiling was drilled to make courtyards,
skylights, and reflective light shelves. New water efficient systems were designed and
installed to keep the building self-sufficient in an average rainfall year, with gray and
black water from showers, basins, and pans reused in toilets and for irrigation. Other
measures include an energy efficient lighting control system, recycling stations to
decrease waste production, and environmentally friendly materials. However, the
building’s heritage was conserved during the refurbishment, including a 1970s foyer,
a graffiti wall, a light wall, and a mural painted by a native Australian artist (Australian
Government, 2004).
Architects have recently converted a former military bunker in Seoul, South Korea
into the Peace and the Culture Bunker, a cultural center for the local community. Sit-
uated on the route from North Korea to Seoul, the bunker was built in 1970 as a shelter
for tanks. Its main defense installations were located on the ground floor, with accom-
modation for soldiers constructed above to appear as an ordinary residential block.
The 250-m bunker included a row of five C-shaped units; tanks would be placed in
these units and would fire through openings in a thick shielding wall.
The three stories of apartments deteriorated and were eventually demolished in
2004, but the tank units were kept. The structure was used as a warehouse before a
decision was taken to turn it into a public amenity; the decision was prompted by
the structure’s contiguity to a park.
During renovation, some old parts were removed except for the C-shaped spaces,
and spaces with steel structures were added for the purposes of the new cultural center.