Technologies adapted from other professions or fields of study have created new paradigms for design and production during the history of our times. 21st century problems such as dependency on fossil fuels for construction that lead to carbon emission and the piles of waste require yet another shift in the paradigm of how we construct our buildings. Mycelium is the biggest living organism on the planet Earth. It is a vegetative part of fungi most often not noticeable to us as it usually grows underground. Mushroom to the mycelium is what an apple would be to the tree - its fruit. It consists of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae that act as the growth agent in fungi. Each hyphae consists of one or more cells which advance the growth process by division and has an average diameter of 4-6 micrometers. Mycelium, with enzymes secreted from hyphae, break down the biopolymers to simpler bodies and then absorb them by active transport, which is an action at the cellular scale of living organisms to digest carbon-based nutrients. This process lets the hyphae grow out of the substrate into the air, creating a “fluffy or compact layer covering the substrate, called fungal skin. The primary uses of mycelium in nature are related to its ability to decompose organic waste, due to the existence of carbon in organic matter. In recent years mycelium sparked an interest in the fields of architecture and design as a tool to produce products that do not require material sourcing and a lot of energy for processing, but rather ones that could grow themselves in a short and feasible amount of time. The properties of both pure and composite mycelium are dependent on the fungal species, substrates, growth conditions, processing of material, and the additives. They can be altered into the production of acoustic panels, insulation, substitute for plywood, alternative leather, vegan bacon, design objects and many other. They do not produce waste - quite the opposite, they feed on agricultural and forestry waste - turning linear economy into a circular economy with their biodegradability.
Next generation advanced materials must include “smart” functional properties that surpass existing capabilities, such as adaptation to environmental cues, the ability to dynamically switch between different material states, and self-healing. As we have gleaned these core principles, they have been successfully applied in engineering efforts, creating artificial self-assembling materials composed of peptides, proteins, DNA, and carbohydrates. However, many of these engineered materials utilize biomolecular building blocks under highly controlled conditions—they are often purified and assembled in vitro. Unfortunately, many of the unique properties of living systems are lost under such conditions. The project follows the path of living biomaterials. It utilizes genetic engineering, synthetic biology, computation and endosymbiosis. It rejects trends of killing microorganisms, working in vitro and manually operating with molds. It embraces the human x nature symbiosis. Creating a “Living Architecture”. As a novel material and design approach mycelium requires a thorough research. Micro Mycosis is a result
of a collection of more than a 100 scholar research articles where 36 were implemented in the Concept Design phase and the final 8 have been presented here - Documenting project scientific basis.
Micro mycosis as a micro house or a structure will grow from a genetically and synthetically modified spores of the fungus Mortierella elongata. It will behave as a lichen - in symbiosis with algae and in this case endosymbiosis. It will photosynthesise to get its nutrients for the growth. It will rise up searching for the sunrays no longer needed to live underground. Implemented soft robotics made of the mycelium body will guide and control the growth of the structure using Finite element analysis (FEA) in combination with artificial intelligence and embedded mycelium intelligence and computing abilities. With mycelium hydrophobic properties and variability in material characteristics such as structural qualities it will allow architectural practices to get rid of the complex constructions requiring assembly and allow it to form a homogeneous self-assembling form. Variation in mycelium network density and microscopic structural arrangement will allow for an alteration in transparency and bred with mushroom fruiting species tremella fuciformis will complete desired translucent semi-opening. Micro Mycosis will be able to shape a desired generated form and accessories.It will adjust according to the occupants and biodegrade in the end of its life cycle.
Next generation advanced materials must include “smart” functional properties that surpass existing capabilities, such as adaptation to environmental cues, the ability to dynamically switch between different material states, and self-healing. As we have gleaned these core principles, they have been successfully applied in engineering efforts, creating artificial self-assembling materials composed of peptides, proteins, DNA, and carbohydrates. However, many of these engineered materials utilize biomolecular building blocks under highly controlled conditions—they are often purified and assembled in vitro. Unfortunately, many of the unique properties of living systems are lost under such conditions. The project follows the path of living biomaterials. It utilizes genetic engineering, synthetic biology, computation and endosymbiosis. It rejects trends of killing microorganisms, working in vitro and manually operating with molds. It embraces the human x nature symbiosis. Creating a “Living Architecture”. As a novel material and design approach mycelium requires a thorough research. Micro Mycosis is a result
of a collection of more than a 100 scholar research articles where 36 were implemented in the Concept Design phase and the final 8 have been presented here - Documenting project scientific basis.
Micro mycosis as a micro house or a structure will grow from a genetically and synthetically modified spores of the fungus Mortierella elongata. It will behave as a lichen - in symbiosis with algae and in this case endosymbiosis. It will photosynthesise to get its nutrients for the growth. It will rise up searching for the sunrays no longer needed to live underground. Implemented soft robotics made of the mycelium body will guide and control the growth of the structure using Finite element analysis (FEA) in combination with artificial intelligence and embedded mycelium intelligence and computing abilities. With mycelium hydrophobic properties and variability in material characteristics such as structural qualities it will allow architectural practices to get rid of the complex constructions requiring assembly and allow it to form a homogeneous self-assembling form. Variation in mycelium network density and microscopic structural arrangement will allow for an alteration in transparency and bred with mushroom fruiting species tremella fuciformis will complete desired translucent semi-opening. Micro Mycosis will be able to shape a desired generated form and accessories.It will adjust according to the occupants and biodegrade in the end of its life cycle.
