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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Photography is by Kris Graves.