Hy-Fi was an organic brick structure, created in 2014 in the courtyard area of MoMA's PS1 outdoor space in New York. Hy-Fi was designed by David Benjamin, who was working for New York-based architecture firm, The Living (A.ArchDaily, 2017). The tower was designed as part of MoMA's Young Architects Program and its construction was focused around its building material - organic bricks consisting of farm waste and mycelium fungus. The tower was used as the centrepiece for MoMA's ‘Warm Up’ music festival on Saturdays throughout June until the beginning of September; the temporary structure provided shade and seating to the guests. After this two-month period, the structure was disassembled and the mycelium bricks were composted and turned into fertiliser. This project was inspired by Ecovative, a visionary design company who create a range of products made from mycelium, such as foods, interior design products, clothing and composites (Ecovative Design, 2020).
The main features of the design were three cylindrical, vertical tubes which allowed light and shade to penetrate into the structure from different angles throughout the day. The base of the tower had three large, triangular-shaped doors which created natural ventilation through the structure. The top layers of bricks were made from steel moulds, which were used to grow the bricks. These steel moulds reflected more light into the interior of the structure, and also referenced the high-rise architecture of New York City.
Hy-Fi was the first large scale structure to be created from mycelium. David Benjamin is a pioneer for the mycelium revolution and proved that beautiful, contemporary and functional structures, with no waste and no carbon emissions can be built in a short time frame. Benjamin described mycelium blocks as exciting, ‘‘because they harness the 'biological algorithm' of mushroom roots.’’ The project cost less than $1000 and took three months to design and erect. In more recent years, projects such as the Shell Mycelium Pavillion (B.ArchDaily, 2017) and the Growing Pavillion (A.Pownall, 2019) have been created using mycelium, which have both further explored the potential of this material.
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10: Pinterest (2020) the living hi fi - MOMA PS1 YAP 2014 [Online]
Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/361484307568388500/ (Accessed: 11 February
2021)
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12: L.Stinson (2014) A 40-Foot Tower Made of Living Fungus Bricks [Online]
Available at: https://www.wired.com/2014/07/a-40-foot-tower-made-of-fungus-and-corn-stalks/ (Accessed: 11 February
2021)
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13: S.Bertsche (2014) HOT SPOTS: IN THE SHADOW OF THE GIANT MUSHROOM [Online]
Available at: https://www.stylepark.com/en/news/hot-spots-in-the-shadow-of-the-giant-mushroom (Accessed: 11 February
2021)
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14: R.Stott (2014) Hy-Fi, The Organic Mushroom-Brick Tower Opens At MoMA's PS1
Courtyard [Online] Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/521266/hy-fi-the-organic-mushroom-brick-tower-opens-at-moma-s-ps1-courtyard (Accessed: 11 February
2021)
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