In a world increasingly shaped by climatic, ecological, and material extremes, there is an urgent need for biomaterials that can perform under demanding conditions without compromising circularity. This contribution presents two material strategies developed within the MUSE – MyceliUm SEat research project, both centred on the use of fungal mycelium as a biological binding agent to form bio-integrated composites across distinct material regimes. Each strategy is designed for different extreme conditions.

The first strategy engages organic substrates such as hemp, sawdust, or straw, where mycelium grows through and partially decomposes the material, physically binding fibres into a dense, cohesive mass. This decay-driven fusion relies on enzymatic activity and mycelial entanglement to transform waste into structurally robust composites. The organic composite aims to achieve the lightest possible structure while remaining strong enough to withstand the racing environment, tested through its integration into a motorsport seat, where weight, impact resistance and performance are critical.

The second strategy explores the use of inorganic matter, such as sand or crushed mineral or synthetic waste, where mycelium functions not by decomposition but through encapsulation - locking inert particles within an organic matrix. This creates composites that suggest new models of containment, stabilisation, and reuse, particularly relevant in closed-loop systems. The heavier sand-based composite investigates the use of inorganic substrates for potential extraterrestrial applications, where structural stability and the use of in-situ resources are prioritised. These contrasting scenarios reflect how each material system is tailored to specific environmental and functional extremes, implementing various material-specific production strategies.

Both strategies use mycelium to create composites, but each applies a distinct logic tailored to its context. Together, the two approaches demonstrate mycelium’s dual potential: as a metabolic processor for organic waste and as a structural entangler of inert matter. This redefines resilience as a biologically informed capacity to grow, adapt, and stabilise matter across extreme contexts.

Ultimately, this research aims to develop biohybrid composites that enable the reuse of inorganic construction waste, supporting future space architecture and more sustainable terrestrial building practices.

Brandić Lipińska, Magdalena, Martyn Dade-Robertson, Maria Theodoridou, and Lynn Rothschild. 2025. Alien Technology for Alien Worlds: Design for Biological Construction of Living Habitation on Mars. Cambridge Open Engage. https://doi.org/10.33774/coe-2025-l464l.This content is a preprint and has not been peer-reviewed.

Camilleri, Emma, Sumesh Narayan, Divnesh Lingam, and Renald Blundell. 2025. “Mycelium-Based Composites: An Updated Comprehensive Overview.” Biotechnology Advances 79: 108517. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biotechadv.2025.108517.

Elsacker, Elise, Lieve De Laet, and Eveline Peeters. 2022. “Functional Grading of Mycelium Materials with Inorganic Particles: The Effect of Nanoclay on the Biological, Chemical and Mechanical Properties.” Biomimetics 7 (2): 57. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics7020057.

Moser, Franziska, Martin Trautz, Anna-Lena Beger, Manuel Löwer, Georg Jacobs, Felicitas Hillringhaus, Alexandra Wormit, Björn Usadel, and Julia Reimer. 2017. “Fungal Mycelium as a Building Material.” In Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposia 2017 Hamburg Symposium: Materials for Spatial Structures, 1–7. Madrid: International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS). https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iass/piass/2017/00002017/00000001/art00001.

Piórecka, Natalia B., Judith Ascher-Jenull, and Barbara Imhof. 2025. MUSE MyceliUm SEat: Developing Mycelium-Based Materials with Enhanced Durability, Adaptable Design, and Natural Colouration for Automotive and Architectural Applications. Cambridge Open Engage. https://doi.org/10.33774/coe-2025-l7t62.

Piórecka, Natalia, Rita Morais, and Jennifer Levy. 2023. Urban MYCOskin. In B-Pro Show 2023: Bio-Integrated Design 23, The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. https://bpro2023.bartlettarchucl.com/bio-integrated-design-23/bio-id-urban-mycoskin.

Saini, Rahul, Guneet Kaur, and Satinder Kaur Brar. 2023. “Textile Residue-Based Mycelium Biocomposites from Pleurotus ostreatus.” Frontiers in Fungal Biology 4: 1276584. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffunb.2023.1276584.

Shen, Sabrina C., Nicolas A. Lee, William J. Lockett, Aliai D. Acuil, Hannah B. Gazdus, Branden N. Spitzer, and Markus J. Buehler. 2023. Robust Myco-Composites as a Platform for Versatile Hybrid-Living Structural Materials. arXiv preprint arXiv:2305.12151. https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.12151.

Womer, Scott, Tien Huynh, and Sabu John. 2023. “Hybridizations and Reinforcements in Mycelium Composites: A Review.” Materials Today Sustainability 23: 100343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtsust.2023.100343.

How can mycelium growth play an active role as the design driver in the development of an architectural project and biofabrication methodologies? How to adopt cultivation as the design medium?

Mycelium-based composites are a genre of materials which can be designed to target improvement in certain physical properties or fabrication methods. Textile hybridisation of mycelium-based composites has been thematised in multiple research studies as a method which can contribute to both goals - improving predominantly tensile properties and allowing for the new speculative fabrication processes.

The project develops a novel biofabrication method for cultivating doubly-curved geometries with elastic textile scaffolds and mycelium composites. The resulting mycelium-textile hybrid modules were to be applied for the spatial installation, Flight Into Shadow, in Salone Verde in Venice, in an appearance parallel to the Architecture Biennale 2025. This restrained the solution space into the geometries which could be cultivated easily in multiple copies within the available low-threshold infrastructure.

The paper discusses first how iterative investigation in the material composition, cultivation settings and maintenance, sterilisation concerns, and geometric limits shaped the design and biofabrication of the installation’s modules. The intermediate results and consequent feedback loops in the biofabrication process are thematised and reflected. The special focus is on the development of the elastic scaffold for cultivation allowing for cultivating both sides with the same expression of air mycelium surface and preventing cracking.

Secondly, the paper reflects on the mycofabrication process of 600+ copies of the selected module geometry. The heterogeneities of the resulting artefacts are reflected in the relation to the process parameters. Regardless, attempts to keep the established cultivation protocol constant, some unexpected growth phenomena (rhizomorphic mycelium growth on top of continuous tomentose mycelium surface and water blisters) occur. They give a base to further research or advancements in mycofabrication crafting.

The project proves that mycofabrication can be functionalised for the production of the scenographic elements for interior applications within a low-threshold setup. The anticipated aesthetic can be achieved in an interactive process when responsive experimental design and a learning-based approach are adopted.

Amudhan, K., A. Zolfaghari, M. Jafari, E. Biala, T.-Y. Chen, M. Ostermann, and J. Knippers.
Living Tex’Celium: Exploring Sustainable Architectural Practices Unique to Mycelium-Textile Composites. Cambridge Open Engage, 2025. https://doi.org/10.33774/coe-2025-wqg3q.
Note: This content is a preprint and has not been peer-reviewed.

Biala, E., and M. Ostermann.
"Mycostructures—Growth-Driven Fabrication Processes for Architectural Elements from Mycelium Composites." Architectural Structures and Construction 2 (2022): 509–519. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44150-022-00073-6.

Kaiser, R., B. Bridgens, E. Elsacker, and J. Scott.
"BioKnit: Development of Mycelium Paste for Use with Permanent Textile Formwork." Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 11 (2023): 1229693. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2023.1229693.

Rigobello, A., and P. Ayres.
"Design Strategies for Mycelium-Based Composites." In Fungi and Fungal Products in Human Welfare and Biotechnology, edited by T. Satyanarayana and S. K. Deshmukh. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8853-0_20.

Yogiaman, C., C. Pambudi, D. Jayashankar, and K. Tracy.
"Knitted Bio-Material Assembly." Presented at the ACADIA Conference, 2020

In recent years, mycelium or fungi-based composite biomaterials have emerged as a genre of low-cost, low embodied carbon, sustainable, and potentially self-healing materials for use in packaging, consumer products, furniture, and more. In architecture, these biomaterials have been used to create acoustic panels, internal sidings, decorative features, and standalone structures. The mycelium has been shown to grow well with sawdust, hemp, straw, coffee grounds, and other plant-derived substrates, enabling composite materials that can fully biodegrade at end-of-life. However, the true nature of how mycelium bonds and integrates with other materials is unknownwhich limits our ability to use hybrid mycelium systems in large-scale building applications. In this work, we explore the morphology and underlying mechanics of how mycelium bonds with other materials. We study both solid materials such as woods, ceramics, metals and polymers, and flexible textiles of various organic and inorganic materials. We conduct experimental shear pull-out tests of coupons and fibers grown within the biomaterial. and explore the bonding interfaces with microscopic imaging. Our results show that mycelium can bond well with a variety of materials, and surprisingly the bonding with Copper, Zinc, Nickel, and their alloys are particularly strong. Furthermore, the contact surface area, texture, and porosity of the materials also play a role in the bond strength. The work offers guidelines for how to harness mycelium as a bonding agent for multi-material hybrid systems for various functional applications. Moreover, our work gives insights into how mycelium biomaterials can seamlessly integrate with existing and future architectural systems.

1. Elsacker, Elise, Simon Vandelook, Joost Brancart, Eveline Peeters, and Lars De Laet. "Mechanical, physical and chemical characterisation of mycelium-based composites with different types of lignocellulosic substrates." PLoS One 14, no. 7 (2019): e0213954.

2. Sun, Wenjing, Mehdi Tajvidi, Caitlin Howell, and Christopher G. Hunt. "Functionality of surface mycelium interfaces in wood bonding." ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 12, no. 51 (2020): 57431-57440.

3. Jones, Mitchell, Andreas Mautner, Stefano Luenco, Alexander Bismarck, and Sabu John. "Engineered mycelium composite construction materials from fungal biorefineries: A critical review." Materials & Design 187 (2020): 108397.

4. Scott, Jane, Romy Kaiser, Dilan Ozkan, Aileen Hoenerloh, Armand Agraviador, Elise Elsacker, and Ben Bridgens. "Knitted cultivation: Textiling a multi-kingdom bio architecture." In Structures and Architecture. A Viable Urban Perspective?, pp. 3-10. CRC Press, 2022.

5. Womer, Scott, Tien Huynh, and Sabu John. "Hybridizations and reinforcements in mycelium composites: a review." Bioresource Technology Reports 22 (2023): 101456.

Textile systems do not merely produce surfaces, they define spatial logic.
This research project investigates the architectural potential of combining textile construction techniques with mycelium-based composites (MBC) in the form of filament hybrids, producing upscaled, solidified textiles. Envisioning structural applications of textiles in adaptive, lightweight, and biodegradable architecture.

The central research questions are: Which textile construction techniques are suitable for building with MBC filaments? How can they be evaluated in the context of different architectural applications?

‘MBC-filaments’ are produced by stuffing textile sleeves with substrate inoculated with mycelium in the form of a paste. The process can be manual or semi-automated. The interoperability of the various parameters (sleeve material, the composition of MBC paste, filament diameter, and constructions (mesh-based with stretchability vs. surface-forming with dimensional stability)) is crucial for testing and comparing various textile techniques.

Construction choices are guided by manufacturing complexities, sizes, and shapes. Knitted meshes are stretchable and suited for round elements or non-load-bearing surfaces, but struggle with increasing weight and shape control. Weaving enables open or dense grids, offering lightness yet stable constructions and integration of diverse yarns. Macramé enables grids, foldable systems and can facilitate material combinations.

The research follows a practice-based approach, where artefacts are constructed and analysed. It builds on works by the authors from 2020-2025.

The work reflects on the production constraints of knitting, weaving and macrame MBC-demonstrators in the form of surfaces, shells and pillars. They are then evaluated under the four-criteria framework: (A) form stability and forming, (B) scalability, (C) integration of reinforcement materials and (D) biological growth behaviour, which are qualitatively reflected. Two main cultivation scenarios emerged during the works: hanging state (good for adjustments and contamination limiting) and bottom-up construction (preferable in up-scaled and structural scenarios). Macramé tests proved to offer potential not only for stable surfaces but also for integrating predefined breaking points to create foldable surfaces (held together by the intact sleeve material), which is relevant for adaptive components.
For particularly high structural stability, bio-welding at dense weaves or crossing points is essential.

This project understands textile construction not merely as a technique, but as a design logic for grown architecture. This opens up a new perspective for the development of architectural systems that are embedded in the paradigm of ‘cultivating matter’, creating a post-extractionist built environment.

1. Biala, Eliza, Anne-Kathrin Kühner, and Martin Ostermann. 2024. “Building-by-Growing with Textile Logic: Speculative Morphologies of Biohybrid Textile Architecture.” In What’s Around Design? Strategic and Speculative Biodesign for a Sustainable Future, Vol. 1. Cham: Springer Nature. Forthcoming September 2025.
2. Sauer, Christiane, and Anne-Kathrin Kühner. 2022. “Concrete Textiles.” In Architectures of Weaving, edited by Christiane Sauer, Magdalena Stoll, Eva Waldhör, and Matthias Schneider, 136–37. Berlin: Jovis Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783868598315.
3. Kühner, Anne-Kathrin. 2016. Strukturen aus BetonTextil. Master’s thesis, Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee.
4. Kühner, Anne-Kathrin. 2023. “Knitted Mycelium: Transforming Mycelium Hybrids into Solidifying and Lightweight Textile Structures.” Cambridge Open Engage. https://www.cambridge.org/engage/coe/article-details/653e028648dad23120a0367a.