The organic brick structure “Hy-Fi” was the centrepiece of the Museum of Modern Art’s summer festival from June until September 2014. The tower’s construction is virtually energy and emission-free – a prototype for the architecture of the future. The design focuses on the use of an innovative building material: organic, biodegradable bricks consisting of no more than the waste from corn crops and a culture of fungus that functions as the binding agent. As the fungus grows, the material expands to tightly fit a brick-shaped mold. 

“Hy-Fi” is a reference to “hypha”, which is the type of living organism used to manufacture the building blocks of the project. Using a pioneering method of bio-design, the structure was formed entirely of organic matter, integrating biological technologies alongside advanced computer-based engineering. The structure that was designed for and commissioned by the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program is formed by three circular towers that merge into one another, creating an intriguing building while also exploring a new paradigm for the architectural design and manufacture of the built environment. The form is designed to draw breezes through the towers and cool the shaded interior further.

Computer-aided design enabled the team to explore a range of shapes and scenarios. Structural testing data of the bricks was then interwoven by the consulting structural engineers to ensure the towers were both new and experimental – but also structurally-sound in terms of withstanding hurricane-strength winds, rain, and human engagement.

The process of diverting the natural carbon cycle requires no energy and produces zero carbon emissions. The organic blocks are manufactured through a combination of discarded corn stalks and specially developed living root-like structures from mushrooms. “Hy-Fi” was the first large-scale structure to use this mushroom brick technology, based on a technique developed by Ecovative and, until now, generally used to make eco-packaging. The bricks can be grown in five days, and are stacked to create a structure.

The top layers of the structure were formed through the custom-forming of a mirror film devised by 3M. The reflective layers capture more light into the interior of the structure, but are also a covert reference to New York’s existing architecture of low-rise red brick and towering skyscrapers.

The project also examines the potential of local production economies, with all materials used throughout the structure’s lifecycle sourced from within 250km radius of the site – echoing the approach of the local food production movement. The structure was removed in September, the mushroom bricks then composted in New York City, and used to enrich the soil of community gardens and parks. This returned the building material to the carbon cycle, and the molds – which are covered in a special light-refracting film invented by 3M – sent back to 3M for further research.

Watch project video – MoMA PS1’s Mushroom Tower: Hy-Fi