Material Deep Dive: Mycelium
How Mycelium is Powering the Next Generation of Materials.
Mycelium, the hidden fungal network beneath our feet, quietly transforms design and sustainability. Once confined to its natural role in ecosystems, it is a sought-after material for architects, designers, and climate innovators. With its unparalleled versatility and environmental benefits, mycelium is leading the way toward a future where materials work in harmony with nature.
Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus. It is usually found in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems as it aids their role in plant material decomposition. Mycelium produces numerous branches that grow outward in a radical fashion and create a colony, this organism/fungi carries nutrients - phosphorus, nitrogen and carbon between plant roots.
A lot of research has shown that plants with certain fungal properties are proven to be more resilient when it comes to issues like infestation and diseases, and mycelium has been known to transmit messages between plants through the language of a chemical signal.
Mycelium Applications Across Industries
Fashion
Fashion Week continues to unveil innovative materials, and mycelium is no exception. Designers like Alexander McQueen have explored its potential, demonstrating how this natural material can be both sustainable and aesthetically striking. Beyond its artistic appeal, brands like Lululemon have shown how mycelium can be a practical alternative for everyday products, including yoga pants and bags
Apart from mycelium being found in some parts of a mushroom, mycelium can be found in soils or surfaces like wood in long, thread-like shoots like hyphae. A look at Alexandra McQueen’s collection explored the usability of the material.
There has been the rise of unconventional (plant-based) materials in the fashionsphere like wild nettle plants, underground roots of mushrooms, plant fibres, jade stone, seaweed, and unused crab shells.
Mycelium has been used in the fashion industry since the 1960s, with several brands incorporating it into their designs to explore sustainable alternatives.
In 2022, Lululemon introduced yoga pants and bags made from mycelium, showcasing its potential as a biodegradable and sustainable material for everyday clothing. This aligns with consumer demand for eco-friendly fashion while reducing dependency on synthetic fabrics.
While many safe and ethical alternatives have emerged in fashion, mycelium stands out as one of the most viable materials for a sustainable future. So far, there have been a lot of use cases of mycelium in the fashion industry but what about other industries like design, architecture and climate tech? This deep dive will take a look at how this material can be replicated creatively in these three distinctive sectors.
Mycelium isn’t a buzzword or a new phrase at the tip of people’s lips. Mycelium has been in use for decades and has been the talk of a lot of industry leaders and decision-makers. With the rise of climate change, alternatives to other available materials and sustainability, knowing more about a widely talked about material is timely.
A reason, I consider, mycelium to be a go-to material in the design, architecture and climate-tech industries is that the material or product or specimen is biodegradable (a huge characteristic several experts look out for when sourcing material), non-toxic and acts as a good insulating/coating material and also proves fire performance and acoustic properties/characteristics.
Research done on mycelium highlighted that materials derived from mycelium have key advantages over traditional (synthetic) materials and can be used to replace key materials like foam, furnishings, and plastics/timber for applications ie cabinetry, and panelling. These materials also have low cost in their density and energy consumption in addition to their biodegradability, low environmental impact and carbon footprint.
Design and Packaging Materials
French candle brand Amen is a first-in-kind sustainable high-end design candle brand that uses packaging made from agricultural waste and mycelium. In its campaign, the video highlighted the use of mycelium as the brand’s first CO2 alternative to conventional packaging. This initiative was taken to tackle the hidden plastic waste associated with shipping fragile products like candles and ceramics. Amen requires double packaging/wrapping, such as bubble wrap or other plastics, to protect the products even if the outer packaging is plastic-free.
The initiative was furthermore kickstarted when half of their first (candle) was delivered to a partner in the US broker during the journey. The only available options to change their packaging were from plastic foam. Amen, a sustainable luxury brand, had to live up to the packaging they shipped. They teamed up with Grown, to build a cylindrical box made out of mycelium to hold individual candles - by mixing the mycelium with agricultural waste (like hemp) and placing it in a mould and takes about seven days to complete. This was also concluded that the mycelium material is a go-to and suitable material.
Another research project done by researchers at the University of Stuttgart; Clara Blum, Paula Castel, Lemmy Hu and Gonzalo Munoz Guerrero explored the potential of mycelium in (sustainable) design.
With a focus on mycelium mushrooms and their application in translucent building envelopes. The research highlighted that the material had compressive qualities which were valuable, they can come in handy in times of material/resource scarcity. In the research, a lamp was used as a case study to check and balance vital barriers and light transmission and to also achieve distinctive visual effects and aesthetic value through the material’s growth patterns.
Amid growing material scarcity, the demand for sustainable alternatives in architecture is rising. Mycelium is answering this call with its fire resistance, thermal insulation, and biodegradability. Installations like PLP Labs’ modular mycelium blocks and Bento’s In Vivo at the Venice Biennale showcase how mycelium can redefine modern architecture while promoting a symbiotic relationship with nature.
With the first use case of mycelium in architecture, there has been the rise of designers, artists, creatives and architects embracing and harnessing sustainable alternatives in their works or projects to reduce carbon footprints in the construction and building industry.
Our first showcase is PLP Lab’s mycelium installation at Clerkenwell Design Week 2023. The 100% bio-based symbiocene installation is a combination of fun and engineered 3D printer timber shells. The installation was made from mycelium modular blocks which demonstrate a possible future where civilization and nature can entertain a positive symbiotic relationship. The installation was made up of 84 blocks and was arranged to form abstract seating, spatial formations, partitions and a table. During the event, attendees and visitors interacted with this structure and got to experience firsthand, the symbiotic relationship between fungi and humans.
PLP Labs’ year-long experiment demonstrated mycelium’s potential to create modular architectural elements. Their Clerkenwell Design Week installation featured 84 modular mycelium blocks, proving its versatility for applications like seating, partitions, and tables. In PLP Lab’s study or research, they discovered that mycelium is a versatile material suitable for various applications in architecture.
In 2023, Bento showcased In Vivo at the Venice Architecture Biennale which explored an architect’s new relationship with resources. The In Vivo installation experimented with natural and living materials including mycelium (the vegetative part of fungi) and raw earth on a larger scale.
The installation also showcased and educated attendees about the design and construction sector and alternatives that can be derived from living organisms alongside their imagery. The installation was educative as curators made use of natural, living materials and also experimented with the installation of panels made out of mycelium in a spectacular wooden structure (12m long x 6m wide x 6m high) and also rested on a floor of raw earth from excavated soil.
This initiative or activity allowed visitors to experience the sensory, poetic, acoustic, and tactile characteristics of selected materials.
At the 2021 Dutch Design Week, a house built from 100 different plant-based materials was among the exhibition. Showcased by design studio, Biobased Creations, the showhome was made out of biomaterials including mycelium, cork, mud, Mexican corn leaves, seaweed, straw, wood and vegetable fibres including earth and sewage. The only non-biomaterials featured in the showhome were the glass windows and metal screw fixings. The CEO, Lucas De Man, made use of biomaterials in the exhibition to sensitize the public on what was possible and also show how eco-materials can be used in the construction of ordinary homes.
The showhome was called The Exploded View Beyond Building but was called The Embassy of Circular and Biobased Building by Dutch Design Week. The project was constructed using the circular building method which was built in a factory and has a layout that’s based on a standard grid that could be a template for house design varieties. Burned wood was used in this project and served as a coating replacement and maintenance. The mycelium was used on one of the biohomes’ walls which was light, water resistant, fire retardant and had a sound acoustic property. Mycelium was also used to make an insulation wall. In the biohome's fungi section, all the building partitions including the 3D printed table, the composite floor and a lam were made out of mycelium.
Gob, a biotechnology product design company, is reinventing wearable wellness products that are engineered with biology. Gob is launching the world’s first earplug with a conscience, one that is grown from lab-grown mycelium.
Gob saw an opportunity to use mycelium for earplugs after discovering that the world manufactures about 40 billion earplugs which are made out of petroleum-based materials - mostly PVC which causes cancer, is endocrine disrupting and is environmentally harmful. The company stepped into the market by making use of a less harmful product that regenerates the health of the planet with every use.
The compostable earplug is made out of Forager grown by Aerial Mycelium. Gob’s mycelium earplugs offer unmatched comfort and performance which moulds naturally to the ear for optimal lift and protection. Gob is in partnership with Forager by Evocative to source cutting-edge farm-grown mycelium materials for their products.
MycoWorks is pioneered by Phil Ross and Sophia Wang, and the company functions at the intersection of art and biotechnology. He coined the term mycotecture sometime in 2008 to describe structures grown with mushroom mycelium, a renewable organic resource that is an alternative to plastics and animal hides. Philip’s mycelium work can be traced to the culinary and art industries as he has been cultivating mycelium as a material for art and design since the 1990s. Phil’s interest in mycelium was visible as he introduced the immune-supporting benefits of reishi mushrooms, which he began for medicinal use. With the reishi material, Phil discovered a rich diversity in form, colour and texture - otherwise known as reishi’s dynamic response to the everyday forces of light, air gravity and temperature.
Phil began using reishi as a material for creating sculptures, bringing culinary precision and having a naturalist’s keen eye to perfect his biotechiques for growing living works of art. In the early stage/development of MycoWorks, they used mycelium to create panels and moulded forms for interior and structural design projects which in turn piqued the interest of furniture designers, manufacturers and architects from a wide range of industries.
Some of the mycelium projects were presented at the Venice Biennale of Architecture as part of the Time Space Existence. In 2016, MycoWorks developed flexible mycelium materials designed to perform like leather with the help of funding raised from biotech accelerator, IndieBio. The seed round helped them create their most exciting creation yet - an advanced mycelium material that would bring about the genesis of Reishi Fine Mycelium.
MycoWorks Fine Mycelium, the brand’s patented revolutionary technology, is completely new in the history of materials. Reishi is also the first natural material to match the performance of the finest animal leathers. MycoWorks is the pioneer behind Mycelium Muse, an initiative/ exhibition that showcases seven talented women artists and designers who have perfected or crafted Reishi to their taste, sensibility, and styles. The Mycelium Muse exhibition is part of Design Miami.
These designers- Sophie Dries, Anna Le Corno, Pauline Guerrier, Josephine Fossey, Sarah Valente, Marian Mailender and Fanny Perrier - showcase a new world that displays the beautiful never-ending possibilities of the Reishi mycelium material. Each (designer’s) work is distinct and offers POVs they share among themselves to bring about their unique approach to design.
The Reishi patent has had a collaboration with Ligne Roset, a high-end French furniture brand that has signature pieces. Ligne Roset committed to purchase a significant portion of Reishi’s production capacity, a luxury biomaterial from MycoWork’s large-scale production facility. This is the first time MycoWorks will offer a large volume of Reishi to a luxury clientele and also the introduction of Reishi into the product design sector. Following Ligne Roset’s announcement of its intention to introduce new and lower-impact materials such as Reishi, into the manufacturing of its products, Ligne is also committed to the preservation of the environment in the French industrial sector.
Furniture designers are embracing mycelium for its sustainability and versatility. ComuLabs founded by Ilia Litviak and Ilya Gindin, bridges the gap between sustainability and affordability in furniture materials.
ComuLabs has developed a pressed mycelium material that rivals MDF, offering a formaldehyde-free and eco-friendly alternative for cabinetry and panelling. Ilya Litvak’s interest in mycelium was sparked when he grew edible mushrooms onto his restaurant chain - waste, in a bid to deliver consistent, high-quality tests in gastronomic mushrooms, and also tried options of playing with materials and came up with the idea of pressing the mycelium and come up with a high-density pressed board.
Gindin has no experience in the construction industry or field, but after different encounters with plywood made out of mycelium, the mycelium ecosystem, and the problem associated with products and materials in the furniture space contributing to deforestation, toxins and formaldehyde; he made a go for it. ComuLabs waste-based material is an affordable sustainable alternative to MDF (Medium Density Fibre-Board).
Mycelium isn’t just a material—it’s a movement toward a sustainable future. As industries adopt this transformative resource, we stand on the brink of a new era where design and nature work together. In future pieces, we’ll explore even more groundbreaking uses of mycelium across design, architecture, and climate innovation. Stay tuned as we uncover how fungi may hold the key to a greener tomorrow.
In the next pieces, we’ll explore more groundbreaking examples of how mycelium is being utilized in design, architecture, and climate/clean technology. Stay tuned to discover how this remarkable material is reshaping industries and advancing sustainability.
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