MYKOS
Clay/Adobe Team
Overview
Project Summary & Research Focus
How does mycelium like mixing with clay and adobe? This team explores this question from two different design angles: for the fabrication
of adobe bricks with new properties, and for clay + mycelium 3D printing.
Our Goals
Develop architectural materials and decor that rival or surpasses current choices yet are more environmentally sustainable.
01
Experiment with the composition of mycelium-based biomaterials for 3D extrusion by a Potterbot, to print products and wall panels for architectural interiors.
02
Create composite adobe and mycelium bricks for physical testing and potential use in construction and as a new building material.
03
Building the Biofabrication Lab
Sam unpacking the HEPA filter laminar flow hood
Showing Adobe Mycelium Samples
At the Santa Cruz Mountain Mushroom Festival, Megumi talked with many people about her experiments.
Mold or Mycelium?
This is part of the process. Although it appears to be colored more like mold, this may just be the light. Only a few more days will tell.
Our Conclusions
Mycelium is slow to grow. It needs all of the right conditions to not get mold. Persistence pays off. Don't get discouraged.
Doing biofabrication requires a Zen state of mind. You have to become comfortable and patient with not being fully in control. Hurdles are frequent - they ARE the process, so we are learning to accept and not fight them.
Sometimes to reach a goal, you not only have to make the materials but you have to build the infrastructure.
At the start of Spring quarter, we had an empty room and a 3D printer on order. 8 weeks later, we have a working fabrication space for biomaterials. But assembling a lab was not part of the original research proposal.
Mycelium needs oxygen and nutrients to grow. While it naturally exists in soil, clay is a different matter.
For making adobe-mycelium composites, use clay powder, not actual clay. It allows for thorough mixing and the water can be added gradually to the entire mixture. This allow for more porosity and homogeneity.
To 3D print biomaterials, 3D printers designed for clay are the current best option.
First print with clay. It teaches you the right consistency. Then develop your biomaterial to match the consistency that works.
Originally we thought we would mix mycelium with clay, but mycelium needs more oxygen and nutrients than clay provides.
Our Research Team
Sam Piechota
4th year, Design
Created physical prototypes that demonstrate the speculative combined
potential of mycelium and technology. Gathered as much information as possible through various prototypes and physical demonstrations.
Megumi Konzen
4th year, Design
Designed an innovative building material that combines traditional adobe with mycelium.