Growing materials #3

Following this talk about fungi and its increasing application possibilities I looked at one of the panelist's initiative called BIOHM. BIOHM is a company that researches and also manufacture products out of grown material. They focus on reusing waste products, mainly organic, but also synthetic waste, as they found that mycelium can break down certain types of plastic. Currently, at BIOHM, they are working on developing a 'production line' to fabricate mycelium-based insulation and are able to manufacture this insulation for up to ten homes per month.They are looking to scale this up in the upcoming years to provide 120 homes worth of insulation per month. But apart from insulation they are also developing a material that could be used for creating products. As the insulation, this material is made in sheets, being able to replace wood where necessary or applicable. I think this company is truly making a lot of progress in terms of reusing waste and developing the engineering and the technology of growing materials because on top of everything else, they also consider architecture and the built environment.

Being introduced to BIOHM and listening to other panelists in the talk, growing materials and mycelium genuinely caught my attention and made me rethink my focus of my project. Due to the fact that I partially obtained an answer to my initial question of my project proposal, which was whether Aberdeen/Shire can be materially self-sufficient and what is the scale looking primarily at wood and stone, finding out the fact that the UK is one of the largest net importers of wood in the world simply erased any sense that this could be possible in the current circumstances. However, growing materials a perfect alternative direction and a theme that ties with my project seamlessly. It supports the idea of self-sufficiency and strongly uplifts the importance of locality, local production and the practices of circular economy. Also, personally, the entire process of working with mycelium and creating products is very intriguing as it combines my interest in biology and my passion for design and making. And so, I am confident, that focusing on mycelium and growing materials is a great opportunity to create something different, sustainable, progressive, a little futuristic, but most importantly, educative.