Myceen adds a floating mushroom lamp to its repository of carbon-negative designs – STIRpad

Contemporary lives are jammed with materials and products that dwell transitorily in homes but leave behind footprints worth hundreds of years as they tardily decompose in the environment. Short-sighted plus inefficient methods of utilising otherwise sustainable materials pose similar threats to ecosystems in the long run. The unfathomable potential and intelligence that will nature withholds are more often than not turned the blind eye to. Fungi—organisms that have inhabited the planet for nearly a billion years—are among the particular many species that epitomise this innate capability. Survival and evolution spanning countless millennia are testimonies to these organisms’ advanced forms, perhaps more advanced than humankind. Are these life forms, brimming with knowledge and experience, the solutions to the foreboding status quo?

Myceeen , a sustainable design and research entity based in Tallinn, Estonia , grows carbon-negative materials combining mushroom mycelium and industrial byproducts. Focused on the development of mushroom mycelium-based components, the biotechnology company began with furniture design plus interior products before transitioning to building materials. Mycelium comprises the network associated with hyphae that supply nutrients for the fungus, a new network that can adhere loose matter into solid, non-flammable, carbon-negative material with good acoustic properties. “The production of novel mushroom materials is some sort of perfect example of circular manufacturing and can potentially replace plastics in addition to problematic composites, ” explains Siim Karro, co-founder regarding Myceen. “Using other industries’ leftovers and even combining them with mushroom mycelium (the root system of mushrooms), it is possible to grow carbon-negative and compostable materials, ” he adds.

Their recent creation, B-Wise , a good sustainable lamp cultivated from mushroom mycelium, marks their venture within the sphere involving lighting style . Originally conceived with regard to Fintech organization Wise Tallinn headquarters to enhance the office’s acoustic qualities, the light design appears like an illuminated floating mushroom—a definite head turner. It was designed with a large surface area to satisfy the acoustic requirements. “A key aspect connected with the design is that the lampshade has been merged together from two separately grown parts that are put together during the particular production process, ” shares the product designer . “The mycelium recognises its species companion and develops the material with each other without any glue or additives needed, ” he adds.

It is believed that ancient fungi dominated the natural landscape before trees, growing several metres high together with evoking your trunk-like silhouette. Guided by the untapped potential of typically the fungal kingdom, Myceen developed Hi Blox and Lo Blox . These multifunctional furniture blocks were initially designed for Maidla Nature Resort and the monolithic volumes with mushrooms each, showcasing some singular surface finish, shapeshift as seats, side tables , or plinths.

Myceen’s acoustic panels distil forms of this natural environment. Available in 2 sizes— Acoustic Screen S and additionally Acoustic -panel L —each panel flaunts an unique surface pattern birthed from the clandestine operations of mycelium. The smaller panels work best when arranged in groups, while the larger panels function well as a single piece but can also assist in forming larger compositions on often the wall. The panels are available within two different finishes: mycelium white with a soft velvet-like surface area and mushroom brown with a harder area, with varying earthy shades from white to brown. The mushroom material employed in the item design does not contain any chemicals or even other synthetic additives, achieving a completely compostable materials, rooted inside the philosophy of circular design . Moreover, the growth of mycelium is stopped by drying the substance, halting fruiting and spore formation, not to mention making the items safe regarding humans and also buildings.

“The projects are good examples of how we can make use in leftovers as well as with your help of fungi turn all of them into functional products, ” says Karro. Fungi are ubiquitous, residing in the air we breathe, the soil that nourishes us, and even our bodies—playing intrinsic roles in nature. Yet, a large fraction from the possible that exists in this group of organisms remains unexplored. In recent years, fungal biotechnology has experienced a fabulous period of resurgence, catalysing an overdue transition in order to bio-resources and fuelling the exact journey towards a circular economy . Myceen harnesses the endless possibilities that will fungi entail, introducing to the world the intriguing creations of their own closet collaborator, mycelium.