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Collection by Allie Weiss

The Living: Using Biology as a Building Block

Brooklyn-based architecture firm The Living, run by David Benjamin, aims to use biology to challenge traditional building methods. The winner of the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program in 2014, the firm filled the museum's courtyard with three towers made of carbon-neutral bricks that were engineered from corn stalks and a mushroom material. Benjamin will join us at Dwell on Design NY to chat about how the built world can engender a healthy population.

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In another project, Benjamin worked with SHoP Architects, Natalie Jeremijenko, and the New York City Economic Development Corporation to install sensors on live mussels in order to track water quality in the East River in New York City.
In another project, Benjamin worked with SHoP Architects, Natalie Jeremijenko, and the New York City Economic Development Corporation to install sensors on live mussels in order to track water quality in the East River in New York City.
Hy-Fi, The Living's installation for MoMA PS1, "temporarily diverts the natural carbon cycle to produce a building that grows out of nothing but earth and returns to nothing but earth—with almost no waste, no energy needs, and no carbon emissions," says Benjamin.
Hy-Fi, The Living's installation for MoMA PS1, "temporarily diverts the natural carbon cycle to produce a building that grows out of nothing but earth and returns to nothing but earth—with almost no waste, no energy needs, and no carbon emissions," says Benjamin.
The naturally formed bricks that comprise the structure are made of a corn byproduct and a material from mushrooms.
The naturally formed bricks that comprise the structure are made of a corn byproduct and a material from mushrooms.
The top-heavy towers were meant to invert structural conventions, as well as material ones. "The structure inverts the logic of load-bearing brick construction and creates a gravity-defying effect," Benjamin says.
The top-heavy towers were meant to invert structural conventions, as well as material ones. "The structure inverts the logic of load-bearing brick construction and creates a gravity-defying effect," Benjamin says.