Many of us (FG included) would cringe at the thought of living near a freeway. What about under one–literally? This home designed by Boston-based architects Jinhee Park and John Hong of Single speed Design may just change our minds. Built almost entirely of leftover materials, this house shows us how “trash-to-treasure” can work in architecture and interior design — with stunning results.
The Design Challenge: To design a new residence using the residual materials from Boston’s Big Dig construction site. According to John Hong, “he had a junkyard full of concrete and steel and this idea to recycle it into a house.” Blessed with a client daring enough to use his home as the guinea pig for the experiment, Park and Hong took on the challenge.
The Materials: 600,000 pounds of construction site discards such as steel beams and concrete off-ramps–compliments of the I-93 highway!
How many Boston commuters do you think would notice that the steel frame and 13 highway panels used in the house formerly made up the Central Artery off-ramps?
The Interior: a hipster loft showcasing concrete salvaged highway panels and beams.
The Fab Factor: Ironically, the heaviness of the recycled materials made it possible to support a fully landscaped rooftop garden. All materials were locally sourced to boot. Could this become an interesting case study for homes?
Via Business Week via Architectural Record
See more work by Single speed Design.
