MYCOTOPIA: (RE)LEARNING FROM MUSHROOMS

by Ioana Ungureanu

Mycotopia' addresses the emerging industry formed around sustainable materials created out of mycelium. The design comprises of a mushroom farm, which also acts as the spine that runs through Doggerville and connects all the other projects together. The mushroom farm provides the means for creating pre-fabricated mycelium materials that can eventually be used in the built environment. The structural qualities of this innovative material represent an opportunity for experimentation within the project, as the farm and the housing are constructed out of mycelium, therefore proposing an innovative and complex way of living. Mushrooms offer not only a practical solution to the evolving built environment, but also as a cultural one. Facing large-scale industrialization, humans have become alienated from the natural world. Inspired by the consistency of their sprouting out in nature, mushrooms offer a sense of stability, becoming a symbol of resilience, and embodying a new, hybrid way of living.