Regenerative Architecture Lab

The construction sector is one of the biggest contributors of greenhouse gas emission globally (39%) and responsible for half of the resources extracted from the earth annually. In 2018, the US alone produced 600 million tons of construction and demolition debris, an amount that is expected to continue growing exponentially while catering to a rapidly increasing world population.

In search of solutions to those horrifying trends and the linear economic system driving its development, this seminar on alternative materials — sequential to the two previous electives (Home is where the Toxins are / Fantastic Materials and where to find them) — looks into mycelium based materials within the biological metabolism.

The framework of the Home:Grown seminar is divided into two modules:

First, in groups of two, student look into ordinary elements of architecture: their location and role in buildings, their material composition and installation methods, the load they have to carry or the forces they need to withstand. Onwards, through research, deduction and small scale material testing, students attempt to exchange those traditional elements with mycelium-based alternatives.

The second part of the semester initiates the hands-on experience in prepping, feeding, molding and growing mycelium, which continues until the end of the semester. The design investigation comprises of digital and physical form-finding in pursuit of innovative mycelium joinery system, aiming to answer the important question of how to scale biological growth processes in architectural production. The proposals also respond to the material’s end-of-life and thus incorporate easy and efficient disassembly strategies closing the biological cycle.