Mycelium Structure
DATE
September 2017
MATERIAL DETAILS
- MYCL™ Composite
IN COLLABORATION WITH
CL x ETH Zurich x BRG x Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Creating Tree-shaped Structure Building From Mycelium
While some architects have been experimenting with mushroom mycelium as a cladding material, architect Dirk Hebel and engineer Philippe Block have gone one step further – by using fungi to build self-supporting structures.
Hebel, who leads the Sustainable Construction unit at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and Block, who founded the Block Research Group at ETH Zürich, have created a tree-shaped structure consisting almost entirely of mycelium.
According to the duo, the material – which is formed from the root network of mushrooms – could provide the structure of a two-storey building, if it is designed with the right geometries.
The blocks used for MycoTree were designed using a 3D modeling program developed by Block’s team, which has been previously used to build structural systems using materials ranging from stone to discarded drinks containers. The templates for the molds were sent to a mushroom farming company in Indonesia called MYCL™️.
MycoTree is on show at the Donuimen Museum Village – one of the two main venues for the Seoul Biennale. The exhibition, which runs until 5 November 2017, looks at ideas and strategies set to shape the cities of the future.
We want to show that there might be alternative construction materials that don't get us in trouble with our world, but that needs to go together with some kind of designing," explained Block.
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WE THE FUNGI
