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.

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.

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

The bricks are made out of corn stalk waste and living mushrooms with root-like growth.

View of the inside of the structure.

Hy-Fi offers a captivating physical environment, designed to disappear as much as to appear.

Section: Anisotropic properties of the grown bricks.

This project offers an alternative to the wasteful linear economy. Using low-value raw materials, almost no energy is used to create the building blocks. By returning demolition material to the earth in 60 days rather than burying it in landfills for hundreds of years, no waste is generated, thus promoting a circular economy.

The structure was built by local artists, local trade school interns, international graduate students, construction professionals, engineering professionals, and non-profit organizations. All people involved were meaningfully engaged and fairly paid.

Growing the bricks at scale.

Collaboration: The multifaceted team teaching and learning from one another.

Layers of performance and experience: Views.

Layers of performance and experience: Sound absorbtion.

Layers of performance and experience: Air Flow.

Summer social events: weekly concerts with audiences of 5,000 people.

Organic brick made of corn stalks and mushroom roots.

Production cycle involving no waste and no energy.

A gravity-defying effect with lightweight brick construction.