Since its launch in 2007, New York-based Ecovative Design has garnered a lot of attention for creating building and packaging materials with low-carbon footprints by mixing agricultural waste with mushroom-derived mycelium. Instead of ending up in landfills, these materials can be composted and reused as soil nutrient.
Last summer, Ecovative Design applied its cradle-to-cradle process to produce 10,000 organic bricks that were used to build Hy-Fi, a three-tower structure that was installed in the courtyard of the Museum of Modern Art’s PS1 site in Long Island City, N.Y. Ecovative was assisted by architect David Benjamin of The Living design studio (acquired by Autodesk in July), structural engineer Arup, environmental engineer Atelier Ten, and SCAPE Landscape Architecture.
Sam Harrington, Ecovative’s Building Products Manager, says the bricks were made by combining chopped corn stalks with specially formulated mycelium. The mixture was packed into molds—which can be of any shape—where it self-assembled and solidified into a lightweight, low-cost object. The molds, made from reflective plastic supplied by 3M, were used (with bricks inside them) to accent the tops of the towers. The towers were demolished in September, and the bricks were composted.
Harrington says the lifespan of these organic materials, which Ecovative has dubbed “Myco Foam,” is similar to that of softwood. “If untreated Myco Foam (in the shape of a brick, or anything else) is kept dry and clean within a building assembly, it will last indefinitely. If it’s chipped into small bits, and mixed with moisture and active soil biota, it will compost in a few months.”
Harrington says Ecovative Design’s primary focus is to use ag waste to make rigid-board insulation.
Read about more innovations from BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report
Related Stories
| Sep 7, 2012
Net-zero energy pioneers on the el-hi frontier
Getting to net-zero is not easy, but the promise of eliminating energy bills and using state-of-the-art technology as a learning lab can make a compelling case to reach for net-zero.
| Sep 7, 2012
Healthcare architects get a preview of tomorrow’s medical landscape
The topic on everyone’s mind was how the Affordable Care Act would impact healthcare design and construction––and whether the law would even make it past the coming election cycle.
| Sep 7, 2012
Goettsch Partners designs new tower in Abu Dhabi
Al Hilal Bank’s 24-story flagship development provides contemporary office space.
| Sep 7, 2012
Suffolk awarded One Channel Center project in Boston
Firm to manage $125 million, 525,000-sf office building project.
| Sep 7, 2012
Duffy joins Thornton Tomasetti
At Hardesty & Hanover, Duffy partnered with Thornton Tomasetti on a number of projects.
| Sep 7, 2012
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital breaks ground on expansion
Sustainability and nature at the heart of the new addition at the Stanford University Medical Center designed by Perkins+Will.
| Sep 6, 2012
Young Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture award to Tiina Antinoja
The award is given for a student work in which wood as a building material has a central role.
| Sep 6, 2012
CPPI awarded $30.3 million contract for University of Florida’s Harrell Medical Education Building
The specialized interdisciplinary learning environment will serve as a focal point for integration and program development for all primary care educational activities in the College of Medicine.
| Sep 5, 2012
Pagano joins Thornton Tomasetti as Vice President in Newark office
Pagano is a Certified Energy Planner and Certified Energy Manager through the Association of Energy Engineers.
