THE DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF MYCOCREATE 2.0: A SPATIAL STRUCTURE BUILT WITH LOAD-BEARING MYCELIUM-BASED COMPOSITE COMPONENTS

MycoCreate 2.0 is a spatial structure with load-bearing components made of mycelium-based composites, built for the 2022 Biomaterials Building Exposition at the University of Virginia, and has been initially conceptualized for the 2021 IASS Innovative Lightweight Structures Competition. Mycelium-based composites are lightweight, renewable, and biodegradable biomaterials obtained from mycelium, the root systems of fungi. There is a growing interest in mycelium-based materials from the architecture community, mainly due to their sustainable features. With MycoCreate 2.0, we employed a computational form-finding strategy for funicular, component-based structures fabricated with mycelium-based materials and an affordable and sustainable fabrication strategy to minimize waste. In addition, we tapped into the structural aspects of mycelium-based composites, their lightness, and biodegradability while easing the breathing and compaction of the material within the formworks.