‘Big Dig House’ a marvel
For Greater Boston-area residents, or frequent travelers into Boston, talk of the Big Dig doesn’t conjure fond memories.
The most expensive highway project in United States history was a Boston headache for nearly two decades, but it also brought forth beauty — the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway for one and, known to fewer Bostonites, a very special home in Lexington — 8 Bird Hill Road.
Dubbed The Big Dig House, the sprawling, architecturally stunning and significant structure is located in Lexington’s coveted Six Moon Hill neighborhood, an area already teeming with homes by luminaries like The Architects Collaborative.
Rising like a literal phoenix from the ashes — or rather, the debris of the Big Dig — the home was constructed using more than 600,000 pounds of reclaimed steel and concrete from the construction project. As such, it stands as a paragon of what’s possible in the realm of using salvaged material for new construction.
To reduce this home to square feet (it boasts more than 4,000) or number of bedrooms is to take away from the overall space, which is truly one-of-a-kind and inspiring in its modernity and vision. There are six levels of living space waiting for you behind the glass and cedar siding exterior, with steel beams from defunct road tunnels forming the inside structure. From the 20-foot floor-toceiling glass windows in the living room to the dramatic staircase and the home’s polished concrete floors, the home is thoroughly contemporary, but with some clever nods to the sustainable, organic design present in the neighborhood surrounding. It’s everything you’d love about a sleek, industrial loft, with all the benefits of a substantial home in the suburbs.
A rooftop Japanese garden made possible by what were former highway slabs adds even more green space for relaxing, and that’s when you’re not cozying up by the three-sided fireplaces or taking in an almost limitless view while soaking in the outdoor hot tub.
To find out more about the home, priced at $2,295,000, contact Joanne Taranto with The Tom and Joanne Team at Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty, 781-795-0502.