British photographer Alastair Philip Wiper takes us into the utopian residence of American millionaire Jerry Henderson: a nuclear fallout shelter built in 1978 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Since the beginning of his career as a photographer, Alastair Philip Wiper has made his art a search for "strange beauty". This British virtuoso, based in Denmark for twenty years, has built a name for himself by exploring the fields of industry, science and architecture.
His series Unintended Beauty, published in a book (Hatje Cantz, 2020), revealed the hidden beauty of infrastructure by exploring the challenges of design through the lens of "our needs, our desires, our follies, and our vision of the future." With The Underground House, he pushes the boundaries even further. This series, published in the book Building Stories (The Danish Architectural Press, 2023), stems from a larger, long-term project, How We Learned to Stop Worrying. The title humorously evokes Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove. Here, the photographer delights in exploring the ever more extravagant, complex, and paradoxical beauty of the architectural remnants of the nuclear age.
BETWEEN KITSCH, LUXURY AND EXTREMENESS
Is it a movie set? A 1950s sitcom? An episode of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone? This nuclear fallout shelter is a little bit of everything. And even more, depending on one's perspective. For Girard B. "Jerry" Henderson (1905-1983), an eccentric millionaire and member of the Avon Products board of directors, it was his "dream home." Following his Colorado home, this other underground residence, built in Las Vegas in 1978, also by architect Jay Swayze, a specialist in residential bunkers, expressed his vision of the ideal home.
Alastair Philip Wiper invites us to a visit like no other. "Imagine, you're stuck there with friends while the world burns above, and think about how long it would take before things started to get weird. That's what I was thinking when I was there," he confides.
Here, artificial rocks, trees, synthetic turf, and Liberace-esque gilding vie with American Way of Life decor, mid-century modern furniture, and vibrant colors. The 1,400-square-meter residence is divided into two sections: a main house and a guest house. It features a swimming pool, in which Alastair Philip Wiper happily took a dip, two jacuzzis, a sauna, a dance floor, a grand piano, a billiards table, a putting green, a bar, a barbecue, and a fountain.
Spacious, opulent, and comfortable enough for parties and communal living, sheltered from cataclysmic events. The businessman completed the ensemble with an adjustable lighting system that can simulate daylight, starry skies, and landscapes.
murals with views of the mountain and the city.
CELEBRATION OF (SUR)LIFE
"The end of one thing marks the beginning of another," said the Little Prince. This positive and hopeful thought could be
adapted if it weren't shaped here by the Cold War and the fear of seeing humanity disappear under the threat of the atomic bomb. "I don't
I don't really understand why he was so drawn to life underground. He was definitely eccentric, and I'm not surprised by his ideas
Even if they haven't taken it, most people appreciate fresh air and open skies. But at the same time, I'm glad there are people who do these kinds of crazy things. It makes the world more interesting.
This structure undoubtedly remains one of the most audacious examples of paradoxical architecture in the atomic utopia. Jerry Henderson clearly spared no expense to live in this house for five years, until his death in 1983, with his second wife, Mary (1905-1988). She later built a conventional house on the surface, directly above it. Today, it belongs to the Church of Perpetual Life, whose goal is to achieve eternal life through cryopreservation.
Through his interplay of lines, symmetry, and color, Alastair Philip Wiper continues to explore the paradoxes, fantasies, and ideals of the atomic age. When asked what he sees as the best aspect of this era, he calmly replies: “I think the beauty, optimism, and hope come from nuclear projects that save lives and have the potential to save the world, such as nuclear medicine and fusion experiments; things that have the potential to have a tremendous positive impact on humanity. But the duality remains captivating. The same machine can help destroy or save the world. This kind of contradiction is commonplace in this field, which is what makes it so fascinating.”
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