Possibly the most sustainable material that also grows itsself
It’s mycelium! What? You’ve never heard of it? Let me explain: Mycelium is a self-growing, completely natural material that is also extremely durable and stable. It’s more commonly known as the mushroom root.
Through my work on curating my Instagram platform, I have reported on several amazing designs using mycelium. Here’s a selection:
The ‚GROW IT YOURSELF HELMET‘ by Nosdesign is a mycelium-based helmet that helps kids to get involved in the making products and teaches the importance of sustainability. By being able to see the helmet grow, the children also will get a rewarding experience once they finished. This interaction would also encourage the use of a helmet from an early age as kids will be proud of their creation.
Nos Design has developed a helmet that can be made out of hay and Mycelium. It is 100% compostable, breathable and impact resistant. The helmet reduces the use of plastics in a product that will be disposed of in a short time due to the child’s growth rate. (In collaboration with PolyBionics)
Lucidum by Josh Riesel is a lighting system using mycelium as part of his UTS Product Design Honours year. This material is the root structure of mushrooms–can be harnessed to bind other organic substrates together, providing similar properties to many unsustainable materials such as MDF wood or styrofoam. Completely compostable and incredibly low energy to produce, mycelium is quickly proving itself to be a strong player in a sustainable future. With mycelium beginning to set foot in industry across USA and Europe, it’s only a matter of time before we see the widespread adoption of mycelium products.
It is being made by using a simple 2-part mould, the body is made from post-manufacturing wood shavings with Reishi mushroom spawn spread throughout. When placed inside an incubator, the mycelium grows through the sawdust, binding it together and creating the beautiful surface textures that mycelium is known for. Once grown through, the living culture is dried out in an oven, stabilising the part for use.
Josh’s main aim was to create something non-reliant on non-degradable and cheap materials, while putting attention on alternative solutions with a positive impact on the environment and society. A multi-part system, Lucidum’s diffusers can be easily swapped out, from table lights to floor lights. Placed upon an LED set within a recycled timber base, compostability, recyclability, and repair have influenced every aspect of the design. Healing our planet won’t be easy, but with materials like mycelium it might just be a little bit easier.
This new fabric Mylo unleather by Boltthreads by is a vegan leather alternative made from mycelium, which is the root structure of mushrooms. Substantial, supple, soft — Mylo has an unmistakable resemblance to leather, but with an unbelievably low environmental impact. Mylo can replicate the look and feel of real leather across a range of colours and textures and can be made into everything from shoes to bags and jackets.
The mycelium cells are fed with sawdust and other organic material and placed on square growing mats. In a humidity- and temperature-controlled environment, they are allowed to grow into a foamy layer — “imagine a big bag of smashed marshmallows” — and finally harvested. Mylo is free of highly hazardous chemicals, plastic free and completely biodegradable.
Big companies like Stella McCartney, Adidas, Kering and Lulu Lemon have invested into this material, so it can become a reality. They will use it in their products, which will have a tremendous impact!
The project is called ‘Mushroom Mycelium Mask’ by the design studio Kuo Dup is a collaboration with public biology laboratory to design a hands-on product that can be used in various types of workshops to demonstrate bio materials.
While there is growing interest in biomaterials, the design team felt that there were still few opportunities to get to know and experience promising biomaterials, like mycelium. This is why they collaborated with public laboratory and designed masks aimed for people to become interested in this and other bio-materials. They were intended to showcase the advantages of this sustainable biomaterial and its potential application in a more pleasant way.
Here is some more information about mycelium:
Mushroom mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. Mycelium obtains nutrients from the substrate to grow and through this process it acts as a natural glue that binds all the loose particles together. Finally, it becomes a composite material which is lightweight and biodegradable.
