MycoTree is the centrepiece of the “Beyond Mining – Urban Growth” exhibition by the Professorship of Sustainable Construction at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Block Research Group at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich. Utilising only mycelium and bamboo, the structure represents a provocative vision of how we may move beyond the mining of our construction materials from the earth’s crust to their cultivation and urban growth; how achieving stability through geometry rather than through material strength opens up the possibility of using weaker materials structurally and safely; and, ultimately, how regenerative resources in combination with informed structural design have the potential to propose an alternative to established, structural materials for a more sustainable building industry. MycoTree is the first full-scale structure that uses a naturally grown mushroom composite for the load-bearing components of a compression-only tree designed using 3D graphic statics.
AUTHORS / TEAM
Sustainable Construction, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology:
Karsten Schlesier, Felix Heisel, Dirk Hebel
Block Research Group, ETH Zürich:
Juney Lee, Matthias Rippmann, Tomás Méndez Echenagucia, Andrew Liew, Noelle Paulson, Tom Van Mele, Philippe Block
Alternative Construction Materials, Future Cities Laboratory, Singapore-ETH Centre:
Nazanin Saeidi, Alireza Javadian, Adi Reza Nugroho, Robbi Zidna Ilman, Erlambang Adjidarma, Ronaldiaz Hartantyo, Hokie Christian, Orion Tan, Sheng Yu, Kelly Cooper
PARTNER
Mycotech, PT Miko Bahtera Nusantara, Indonesia
SPONSORS
ETH Global
ETH Zürich, Department of Architecture
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Singapore-ETH Centre, Future Cities Laboratory (FCL)
VIDEO
Footage: all team members, Wim van Egmond
Photos: Carlina Teteris and Juney Lee
Editing: Juney Lee and Matthias Rippmann
Music: Wild Things (Instrumental) by YEYEY
