Fungal highways and calcite columns: Explorations of a living material

PhD project by Lynn Hyun Kieffer

Promoting the idea of symbiosis, interactions and relationships rather than competitiveness, this research project explores a living material composite, co-produced and co-habited by micro-organisms. The project combines methods of bio-fabrication, co-cultivation and digital tools to explore non-extractive materials for architecture. The research project investigates how these microbes can be co-cultivated and whether this sharing of space of microbes can enhance the materials properties

In this research two prominent species of soil ecologies are explored, fungi and bacteria. A case study of one wood decaying and one biocement producing bacteria have been chosen to develop a method of material composition and fabrication for architectural purpose. While the fungi feeds and decomposes ligno-cellulosic materials, which can be sourced from industrial or agricultural waste streams, in an architectural material context the dense root network, the mycelium, created by the fungus binds loose particles and forms a foam-like material. The selected bacteria lives within this composite, using the mycelium network to spread throughout the material. In certain conditions this bacteria precipitates calcium carbonate, having the potential to contribute to the mechanical properties of the composite.

This thesis has taken place at different scales. First at microbial scale, this thesis has investigated the bacteria-fungi interaction and their reaction to each other when cultured together. Later full scale material properties and methods of application in an architectural context were tested according to case-studies.