The future of architecture and design is at the intersection of biology, computing and engineering.

While many architects these days put up buildings loaded with energy-saving features and attractive, sustainable design, one company is taking its approach to being green to another level: growing fully biodegradable building materials.

Known as The Living, the small, New York-based architecture firm has pioneered mixing biological technologies with computing and engineering. This summer, it gained fame in design circles with Hy-Fi, a 40-foot-tall temporary outdoor building made from 10,000 organic bricks that was showcased at Manhattan’s prestigious MoMA PS1 contemporary art museum.

The Living is aiming to alter the notion of what an architecture firm is, and how its projects interact with the environments in which it builds. One of its driving goals is upending one of the construction industry’s biggest black marks – being the source of 40 percent of the waste in landfills.