Reflecting on our material usage and perfect polished expectations, I embrace an organic approach, aligning with natural rhythms for mutual goals. By growing own material, I engage in co-design with mycelium without harming it, aiming a synergy and deep insights of patience and resilience with the living organism.

Our tendency to differentiate and exploit nature for human-centered needs creates a disconnection. However, we are all part of nature. Mycelium highlights this issue. It is misunderstood and its potential in the design field is wasted by conventional, wasteful practices that use it merely as packaging material. By “letting it live,” potentials reveal themselves that align with the nature of the organism, working together instead of against it.

My bachelor thesis explores mycelium’s potential and regenerative capabilities, avoiding traditional methods that kill it for use. Through experiments, I demonstrated how mycelium can heal, creating a regenerative circular system that is possible only while it is alive, specifically in a dormant state. I showcase the potential of living mycelium for degradability and regenerative growth through reactivation of the mycelium for repair, just with the need of water. I tested reactivating the mycelium after grinding and repairing broken connections, demonstrating its ability to reattach and remain functional. This results in a regenerative circulation giving change to reshape without losing volume, material, or energy.

The bio-welding capacities open perspectives on ways of applying mycelium as a natural binder for wood, as hyphae, the fungal threads, naturally do. The mycelium infiltrates the wood, attaching pieces together and creating wood-mycelium attachments where one nurtures and hydrates. A collaboration.

This conscious design practice emphasizes the importance of nurturing life instead of destroying it, considering the broader impact that design can have.

Documentation

Mycelium Journal

Mycelium Experiment