Mycelium-based composites are lightweight, renewable, and biodegradable biomaterials obtained from mycelium, the root systems of fungi. There is a growing interest in mycelium-based materials from the architecture community, mainly due to their sustainable features. Buildings and construction together account for about 40% of energy-related CO2 emissions worldwide. Although the use of mycelium-based materials in architectural construction is still experimental, existing research shows that it can significantly reduce the reliance on fossil fuels and the embodied energy required for construction and decrease the amount of waste that is left at the end of buildings’ lifecycles. Because once demolished, mycelium-based composites can completely biodegrade. Additionally, mycelium-based composites can be cultivated on a wide range of organic agricultural and urban waste. This enables the re-entry of waste materials into circular economy instead of being discarded as landfill.  

With MycoCreate 2.0, we introduced a computational form-finding strategy for compression-only, component-based spatial structures fabricated with mycelium-based composites. These components are cultivated within recyclable paper-based formworks that mycelium started to decompose during growth. With MycoCreate 2.0, we tapped into the structural aspects of mycelium-based composites, their lightness, ability to bond during natural growth, and biodegradability.

Team

Benay Gürsoy Toykoç, PhD

Assistant Professor, Penn State University College of Arts & Architecture

Director, ForMat (Form and Matter) Lab

Ali Ghazvinian

PhD Candidate in Architecture, Penn State University College of Arts & Architecture

Arman Khalilbeigi Khameneh

Co-Founder, Paragen Creative Studio

PhD student in Environmental Design, University of Calgary School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape

Esmaeil Mottaghi

Co-Founder, Paragen Creative Studio

Dina Luo

UVA Project Manager, Master of Landscape Architecture Candidate ’22

Penn State Faculty & Staff Contributors

John Pecchia, Kim Paley, Ed Kaiser, Scott DiLoreto

Penn State Student Contributors

Alale Mohseni, Alexandros Naylor, Andrew Kuka, Blanche Tarabrella, Brad Feitl, Chris Castiglia, Kate Loftus, Katie Bair, Kristine Luther, Natalie Walter, Niousha Keyvani, Paniz Farrokhsiar, Parachi Masown, Quaid Spicher, Rachel Justice, Seyed Hossein Zargar

UVA Workshop Participants

Mak Johansen, Liv Orlando