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Mushroom and Cornstalk Tower to Fill MoMA PS1's Courtyard This Summer

 Rendering of The Living’s "Hy-Fi," the winning design of the 2014 Young Architects Program at MoMA PS1.
Rendering of The Living’s "Hy-Fi," the winning design of the 2014 Young Architects Program at MoMA PS1.
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Courtesy of The Living

LONG ISLAND CITY — A tower made from organic bricks will rise in the MoMA PS1 courtyard this summer, as the winning design in the museum's annual contest for emerging architects.

The design, "Hy-Fi" by the architectural firm The Living, features a trio of cylinder-shaped structures built with bricks made from corn stalks and specially formulated mushroom root. The top of the structure will feature reflective bricks designed to "bounce light down on the towers and the ground," according to MoMA PS1.

The installation was chosen from five finalists in this year's Young Architects Program at MoMA and MoMA PS1, which challenges participants to create temporary structures with an emphasis on environmental issues like sustainability and recycling.

"This year's YAP winning project bears no small feat," Pedro Gadanho, curator in MoMA's Department of Architecture and Design, said in a statement. "It is the first sizable structure to claim near-zero carbon emissions in its construction process and, beyond recycling, it presents itself as being 100 percent compostable."

The installation will be erected in the courtyard at MoMA PS1 in late June, and serve as the backdrop to the museum's annual outdoor summer concert series "Warm Up."

This is the 15th edition of the museum's Young Architects Program. Last year's winner was a giant pavilion made of wooden scraps left over from manufacturing skateboards.