Hy-Fi

Zero carbon emissions compostable structure

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    Global finalist entry 2015 - Hy-Fi: Zero carbon emissions compostable structure

    In 2014 10,000 low energy and compostable bricks were manufactured and used to erect a 13-meter-tall tower, after three months of cultural events, the structure was disassembled, the brick composted and the resulting soil was returned to local community gardens.

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    Global finalist entry 2015 - Hy-Fi: Zero carbon emissions compostable structure

    Different brick types to fill any course length without having to cut the bricks.

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    Global finalist entry 2015 - Hy-Fi: Zero carbon emissions compostable structure

    The bricks grow out of living materials and return to the earth through composting at the end of the structure’s life cycle. The manufacturing process engages bio-technology, agriculture, and industrial manufacturing. The composting process engages the municipal solid waste stream.

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    Project update October 2014 – Hy-Fi, New York, USA

    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.

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    Project update October 2014 – Hy-Fi, New York, USA

    Brick fabrication.

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    Project update October 2014 – Hy-Fi, New York, USA

    Project update October 2014 – Hy-Fi, New York, USA

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    Project update October 2014 – Hy-Fi, New York, USA

    The organic brick structure “Hy-Fi” was the centrepiece of the Museum of Modern Art’s summer festival from June until September 2014.

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    Project update October 2014 – Hy-Fi, New York, USA

    Summer festival event at Hy-Fi.

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    Project entry 2014 North America – Hy-Fi: Zero carbon emissions compostable structure, New York, NY

    Hy-Fi is a new paradigm for design and manufacturing, with almost zero waste, zero embodied energy, and zero carbon emissions. It is a compostable structure that offers a new vision for society’s approach to physical objects and the built environment.

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    Project entry 2014 North America – Hy-Fi: Zero carbon emissions compostable structure, New York, NY

    The new structure built in the courtyard of MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program from June until September 2014 is in contrast with New York City’s typical brick buildings in Queens and the steel-and-glass buildings of Manhattan.

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    Project entry 2014 North America – Hy-Fi: Zero carbon emissions compostable structure, New York, NY

    A captivating experience for summer music events.

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    Project entry 2014 North America – Hy-Fi: Zero carbon emissions compostable structure, New York, NY

    Organic brick made of corn stalks and mushroom roots.

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    Project entry 2014 North America – Hy-Fi: Zero carbon emissions compostable structure, New York, NY

    Branching circular towers.

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    Project entry 2014 North America – Hy-Fi: Zero carbon emissions compostable structure, New York, NY

    Temporarily diverting the natural carbon cycle to make a building, then return it to the cycle.

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    Project entry 2014 North America – Hy-Fi: Zero carbon emissions compostable structure, New York, NY

    Production cycle involving no waste and no energy.

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    Project entry 2014 North America – Hy-Fi: Zero carbon emissions compostable structure, New York, NY

    A tall occupiable structure as a test of this new building material and method.

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    Project entry 2014 North America – Hy-Fi: Zero carbon emissions compostable structure, New York, NY

    A gravity-defying effect with lightweight brick construction.

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    Project entry 2014 North America – Hy-Fi: Zero carbon emissions compostable structure, New York, NY

    Natural dye creates a structure with natural white on the outside and warm red on the inside.

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    Holcim Awards North America ceremony, Toronto, Canada

    Presenting the Holcim Awards Bronze (l-r): Alexander Biner, Member of the Board of the Holcim Foundation; Alain Bourguignon, Holcim Area Manager for North America and the United Kingdom; David Benjamin, The Living, New York – winner of Holcim Awards Bronze for “Hy-Fi: Zero carbon emissions compostable structure”; and jury member Mark Jarzombek, Associate Dean, School of Architecture & Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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    Holcim Awards North America ceremony, Toronto, Canada

    Winners of the Holcim Awards (l-r): David Benjamin, The Living, New York – winner of Holcim Awards Bronze for “Hy-Fi: Zero carbon emissions compostable structure”; Caitlin Taylor and Amy Mielke, Water Pore Partnership, New York – winners of Holcim Awards Gold for “Poreform: Water absorptive surface and subterranean basin”; and Kai-Uwe Bergmann – BIG Bjarke Ingels Group, New York and Matthijs Bouw - One Architecture, Amsterdam – members of the consortium winning Holcim Awards Silver for “Rebuild by Design: Urban flood protection infrastructure”.

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    Feature interview – Hy-Fi: Zero carbon emissions compostable structure, New York City, USA

    “We want to share our findings with the design community” – David Benjamin, The Living, USA

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    “Sustainability? Returning to soil at the end of use” – David Benjamin

    “Hy-Fi: Zero carbon emissions compostable structure, New York, USA” was designed for and commissioned by the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program. Architect and Holcim Awards Bronze winner David Benjamin explains that organic bricks are carbon free and produce almost no waste at the end of the building’s lifecycle.

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    Holcim Awards North America media briefing, Toronto, Canada

    “This was a project to disappear as much as it was a project to appear.” – Holcim Awards Bronze winner David Benjamin, The Living, New York for “Hy-Fi: Zero carbon emissions compostable structure, New York”.

  • Awards Bronze 2014–2015 North America

Hy-Fi is a cluster of circular towers over 12 m tall formed using 10,000 bricks that were naturally grown from shredded corn stalks and mushroom mycelium using recent advances in biotechnology combined with cutting-edge computation and engineering. Commissioned by the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program, brick production required no energy and produced no waste or by-products. After three months of cultural events, the structure was disassembled and the bricks decomposed to compost.

By David Benjamin - The Living, New York, NY, USA and

Ideas: Circular Design, Circular Materials & Building Components, Regenerative Materials

Hy-Fi is a cluster of circular towers over 12 m tall formed using 10,000 bricks that were naturally grown from shredded corn stalks and mushroom mycelium using recent advances in biotechnology combined with cutting-edge computation and engineering.

Commissioned by the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program, brick production required no energy and produced no waste or by-products. After three months of cultural events, the structure was disassembled and the bricks decomposed to compost. 

Hy-Fi

Project authors

  • Feature interview – Hy-Fi: Zero carbon emissions compostable structure, New York City, USA
    David Benjamin

    The Living

    USA

  • Eben Bayer

    Ecovative Design

    USA

  • Shaina Saporta

    Arup New York

    USA

  • Christo Logan

    The Living

    USA

  • Dale Zhao

    The Living

    USA

  • Nathan Smith

    The Living

    USA

  • Matt Clark

    Arup New York

    USA

  • Jim Stoddart

    The Living

    USA

  • Global Awards 2015 finalist certificate handover in New York City USA – Hy-Fi: Zero carbon …
    John Locke

    The Living

    USA

  • Dane Taeyoung

    The Living

    USA

  • Garrett Scheffler

    Ecovative Design

    USA

  • Kristal Reid

    3M Minnesota

    USA

  • Byron Trotter

    3M Minnesota

    USA

  • Sam Harrington

    Ecovative Design

    USA

  • Damon Lau

    The Living

    USA

  • Gina Albanese

    3M Minnesota

    USA

  • Danil Nagy

    The Living

    USA

  • Ray Wang

    The Living

    USA

Project updates