in Melbourne commissioned the design department at nearby Monash University to craft furnishings from fungus as part of the company’s push to create inventive sustainable goods made in Australia. The result?, a collection of lighting fixtures, wall tiles and space dividers crafted from mycelium, the subterranean network of single-cell fungal threads that grow into mushrooms.
To create the prototypes, the interdisciplinary Monash team mixed mycelium spawn with organic waste the fungi could use as nutrients, such as rice husks, charcoal, wood chips, used coffee grounds and discarded textiles. Once they’d created favorable growing conditions for their mycelium, they cultivated it in a lab in temperatures between 68 degrees and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
“One of the exciting characteristics of mycelium is that the texture and colors vary depending on their growing temperature and substrates,” said Chyon, whose work explores the relationship between design and the environment, with an emphasis on natural, living materials.After the Monash designers grew hunks of mycelium, they shaped it by placing it into molds made from foam or, in one case, reused fabric. “In this case, the textile was both the form and substrate,” Chyon said.
“Mycelium, on the other hand, is naturally fire-resistant, water-resistant, and microbe-resistant and also has naturally great acoustic performance,” according to a statement from the Victorian Premiers Design Awards, whichlast year. “Because of these natural properties, the surface of the mycelium furniture does not need chemical treatments. Thus, it is much healthier for both the environment and humans during its lifespan.