The big dig has effected all of us in the Boston area in one way or another. Breaking ground in 1991 and becoming the largest public works project in United States history, the Big Dig is only now feeling more or less finished. The Big Dig House, designed by Single speed Design, was the brainchild of engineer Paul Pedini who worked on the Big Dig for 11 years. Pedini came up with the idea to construct his home from the Dig's salvaged highway panels and bridge piers, ending up with 660,000 pounds of recycled material in the final design...
With the help of SsD, Pedini's house acts as a prototype for reusing left over construction materials otherwise destined for the landfill. While the materials were free, the transportation and erection of the structure was anything but ordinary. Much of the cost benefit was used for elements like hiring a 168-ton crane to place each precast highway slab. The roof itself weighs 69,000 pounds but gave the designers the ability to build a roof garden that could support large stones and trees that could otherwise never be supported by a home.
The 4,300 SF home cost about $150 per square foot which is very reasonable considering its structural integrity. We feel the architects did a wonderful job blending heavy industrial pieces with finer materials to create a home that feels warm and inviting. Its one of the finest example of responsible, adaptive reuse that we can think of that has resulted in something that still feels new and modern.
A great overview of the Big Dig's original problem, solution and challenges here. A short film on the Big Dig House here.
its beautiful! but in LA i would worry about such a heavy roof in an earthquake.
WAY TO GO!!
view Oneformybaby's profile
very inspiring.
view lovelyrita's profile
It's a beautiful home and an excellent reuse of materials...
...but it's incredibly inaccurate to claim that these steel beams and concrete slabs would have ever ended up in landfill - scrap steel is in high demand and currently sells for nearly $700 a ton.
view bepsf's profile
Oh how I miss the Central Artery... and you know, all of Boston. :)
They should call this the Central Artery house, as opposed to The Big Dig house.
view sparkle's profile
affected
view Pixie's profile
gorgeous
view jln3681's profile
While that is true that steel is a highly recyclable product and in high demand... the majority of the material used and the innovation of the house is in the reuse of the inverset panels that are made from 7 1/2-inch thick concrete slabs that are cast compositely with prestressed W16 steel beams. The panels are generally used to create temporary bridges. The energy required to extract the steel that has been cast with the concrete (this is much more than just rebar) is the reason they are not easily recyclable and unfortunately it is not an inaccurate claim but a real problem of what to do with the panels. I'm sure many of them can be reused for other temporary bridges but the scale and cost of transporting the panels made the landfill a real option.
view Wesfs33's profile
just to be clear:
affected not effected
view Pixie's profile
beautiful and inspiring. hopeful for the future, even.
view atlantadesigner's profile
Yay for recycling.
But 4300sqft?
Doesn't that seem rediculous?!?
view Angus's profile