In California, BioLab Studio has created a system in which mycelium materials are grown on 3D-printed natural scaffolds and maintained by robotic arms.
Dubbed Bio Scaffold, studio founder Natalie Alima tells dezeen she hopes the concept will accelerate circularity. “I was interested in architecture that biodegrades back to the earth and is intended to be eaten,” Alima says. “I’m always thinking about like the afterlife of products rather than designing just prior to thinking about how it’s actually returning back to the earth.”
The scaffolds—made from wood, coffee grinds, and hemp fibers—create structure and also feed the mycelium. The robotic arms include sensors and provide moisture to the mycelium, as needed. “So not only is the machine tending to the organism, but also the organism is influencing the machine’s movement,” Alima adds. “[It’s] almost like a language between the two mediums, between the physical and the virtual realms.”
The first structures were decorative objects, but Alima hopes to expand into architectural elements.