The winner of the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program will bring his design to life in Brooklyn later this year.
David Benjamin will build his Hy-Fi project, two cylindrical towers of biologically engineered bricks, in the courtyard of the museum this June, according to Fast Company.
The bricks grow themselves from plant waste and fungal cells and have zero-waste.
"It could also present a radical alternative to building up our city's future — one that's inspired by biology, stretched even further by human technology, and part of a zero-waste, cradle-to-grave cycle," Sydney Brownstone at Fast Company said.
Benjamin, who is the principal architect at The Living and director of Columbia University's Living Architecture Lab, said the entire development of the project will take place on site. A New York-based startup called Ecoactive, which specializes in producing "Mushroom Materials," is going to combine mycelium with corn stalks to create the building blocks. The mushrooms, by the way, can grow into an shape too, not just bricks.
"It's really inexpensive, almost cheaper than anything," Benjamin said. "It emits no carbon, it requires almost zero energy, and it doesn't create any waste — in fact it almost absorbs waste. We think that's a pretty new and pretty revolutionary way of making building materials."
Benjamin, like the team at Ecoactive, believes there is still a great deal from biology about the design and strength of structures. The life cycle of biology is also something he's interested in considering when designing buildings.
"It's our interest and our belief that a single building, a single piece of architecture, can't and shouldn't be considered alone," Benjamin said. "When that building comes down, those materials need to go somewhere. The building interacts with the forces of wind and water. The building consumes energy. The building interacts with people and culture and society."
3M, the company which produces Scotoch tape, Post-Its Command adhesives and other products, is partnering to make the top of the towers reflective.
There is functionality to the unique towers. Museum visitors that pass through will be subjected to the natural cool climate as a result of the buildings. Hi-Fy draws in cool air at the base, which is more porous, then pushes hot air out the top, similar to how a heart muscle pumps blood. Lighter than normla materials at the base of the towers make the micro-climate possible.
At the end of the exhibit Build It Green will compost the building to be used as fertilizer.
Below is a video explaining the towers and showcasing the renditions.
