Tower of "grown" bio-bricks by The Living opens at MoMA PS1
News: New York studio The Living has completed this year's MoMA PS1 gallery pavilion – a cluster of circular towers built from bricks that have been grown from corn stalks and mushrooms (+ slideshow).
![Tower of "grown" bio-bricks by The Living opens at MoMA PS1](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/07/Hy-Fi-by-The-Living_dezeen_468_9.jpg)
Hy-Fi was the winning project in the annual Young Architects Program (YAP) contest, which each year invites emerging architects to propose a temporary structure that will host MoMA Ps1's summer events.
![Tower of "grown" bio-bricks by The Living opens at MoMA PS1](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/07/Hy-Fi-by-The-Living_dezeen_468_6.jpg)
Designed by The Living principal David Benjamin, the structure is built from entirely from biodegradable materials.
Each of the bricks used to construct it were grown rather than manufactured, using a combination of agricultural byproducts and mushroom mycelium – a kind of natural digestive glue.
![Tower of "grown" bio-bricks by The Living opens at MoMA PS1](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/07/Hy-Fi-by-The-Living_dezeen_468_1.jpg)
Specially designed moulds were used to cultivate the bio-bricks. These were coated in a light-refracting film developed by materials firm 3M and some were then built into the structure around the top, helping to bounce light down inside.
![Tower of "grown" bio-bricks by The Living opens at MoMA PS1](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/07/Hy-Fi-by-The-Living_dezeen_468_4.jpg)
Gaps in the brickwork also help to naturally ventilate the interior using the stack effect, drawing cool air in at the bottom and pushing hot air out at the top.
![Tower of "grown" bio-bricks by The Living opens at MoMA PS1](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/07/Hy-Fi-by-The-Living_dezeen_468_7.jpg)
According to MoMA PS1, the tower is designed to create a "pleasant microclimate" throughout the summer.
"Hy-Fi offers shade, colour, light, views, and a futuristic experience that is refreshing, thought-provoking, and full of wonder and optimism," said the gallery in a statement.
![Tower of "grown" bio-bricks by The Living opens at MoMA PS1](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/07/Hy-Fi-by-The-Living_dezeen_468_8.jpg)
Hy-Fi represents the 15th edition of YAP, which was first established in 2000. Last year CODA installed a wall clad with skateboard offcuts in the courtyard, while the 2012 edition was a spiky blue air-cleaning sculpture by HWKN.
![Tower of "grown" bio-bricks by The Living opens at MoMA PS1](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/07/Hy-Fi-by-The-Living_dezeen_468_2.jpg)
The structure will remain in place until 7 September. Other YAP installations will also be created this summer at MAXXI in Rome and Istanbul Modern.
![Tower of "grown" bio-bricks by The Living opens at MoMA PS1](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/07/Hy-Fi-by-The-Living_dezeen_468_0.jpg)
Photography is by Kris Graves.