15:00 - 16:40
Session: S53
[Reprogramming Materials] + Design
PIC1051
Healing with Fungi: Unique Aesthetic Expressions for Mycelium-based Materials through Patch and Mend
Keywords:
Bio Design; Mycelium Based Materials; Repair; Living Artefacts; Material Driven Design
Author(s):
Wasabii NG, Bahareh BARATI, Elvin KARANA

Fungi is a highly attractive organism for biodesign with the potential of converting agro industrial waste into novel materials, suitable for diverse applications from acoustic panels to packaging, from textiles to building material. This paper present san explorative study that taps into a relatively unexplored potential of fungi in biodesign, namely, “to heal” living and non-living mycelium-based materials. When still alive, the fungus has the ability to fill in the material substrate with a network of thread-like roots, called mycelium. Through revisiting the concept of patch and mend, we are able to repair and re-appropriate mycelium-based materials and extend their lifetime. Leveraging on the livingness of fungi, our material-driven explorations demonstrate unique aesthetic expressions in the healed mycelium-based samples toward the revival of daily repair practices.