MATERIAL RESEARCH
Stage 1
Mycelium Chair Terreform One
Stage 2
Mycelium Chair Erik Clarenbeek
Stage 3
Mycelium Bricks Phillip Ross
Mycelium branches in an organic pattern while searching for nutrients in the soil. Branches can meet and fuse in genetically identical mycellium (with itself). The centre is cannibalised when the nutrients run out. Creates an efficient network, interesting when applied to structure or urban planning scale.
MYCE
RESEA
ELIUM
ARCH
Stage 4
Stage 5
Mycelium
In 1998 a team from the US Forest Service set out to investigate the cause of large tree die-offs in the Malheur National Forest in east Oregon. After testing fungus found in the trees, they realised that they were all genetically identical. The team calculated that the A. solidipes covered an area of 3.7 sq miles (9.6 sq km), and was somewhere between 1,900 and 8,650 years old.
MYCE
RESEA
ELIUM
ARCH
This is a single ‘Mega-Organism’!
OREGON STATE
50km 50km
Flour
Wallpaper Paste
PVA
Mushroom Tower Mycotecture
In order to bond the sawdust together I tried different glues, to my surprise the starch in flour actually worked the best, creating a super lightweight brick that contains all the components necessary for growing a thriving mycellium population.
BONDING
MATERIAL
Hard and Smooth
Mushroom bound Materials Ecovative
AGENTS
L TESTING
Wouldn’t Dry
Crumbly
15%
20%
25
As I increased the ratio of flower in the sawdust mixture, the brick became less crumbly but also appeared to become more brittle. Another effect of adding more flower appeared to be increased growth of the mycellium as well as other moulds especially on the top face of the brick that wasn’t made so smooth by the casting process.
FLOUR
MATERIAL
5%
30%
BIO SCAFFOLD Natalie Alma
RATIO
L TESTING
40%
SAWDUST TABLE Yaov Avinoam Sawdust and Resin
F
By testing the tensile and compressive strength of the bricks, I can simulate the material much more accurately as well as work out the best ratio to mix my material.
TENSILE S
MATERIAL
STRENGTH
L TESTING
Sawdust brick suspended by welded steel frame.
Newton Meter - measuring force applied to the brick.
Steel frame with cross brasing for lateral stability.
Strong wooden base for lateral stability.
I hope by compressing the bricks while they dry that it will increase their strength by making them a bit denser. I hope this might actually speed the drying process by squeezing out excess water.
COMPRESSING
MATERIAL
Vices to provide pressure (could be replaced with hydraulic press).
Wooden walls slot in for easy removal after material sets.
Strong steel ‘L’ beam framework to prevent deformation.
Base with holes for drainage when water is squeezed out. Pot for catching water + wooden block feet to suspend device.
G THE BRICKS
L TESTING
Much like rammed earth, strength is improved through compression
In order to mimic the organic forms of mycelium, I have chosen to explore cloth casting as it can create some very unique shapes. As an initial experiment I created a two-dimensional form that plays with a few different geometries in order to test how my material performs when cast.
CLOTH C
MATERIAL
CASTING
L TESTING
FABRIC CAST CONCRETE Joseph Sarafian and Ron Culver
FABRIC CAST CONCRETE Bob Fossil
DIGITAL
TESTING
It.1
It.2
It.3
It.4
MYCELIUM TECHTONICS Mycellium and Cotton wool
I was interested in trying to simulate the nutrient seeking property of mycelium. In order to do this I imagined a grid of mycelium strands that were attracted to areas of high nutrients which I modelled as attractors which diverted the path of the strands towards them.
SIMULATING DIGITAL
4
G MYCELIUM TESTING
It.5
‘NUTRIENT RICH’ AREAS
AREAS OF POROSITY
DIGITAL TESTING
SIMULATING MYCELIUM
It.4
In this iteration I took all the points that were within a certain distance of one another and connected them to create linking structures between individual strands.
It.5
In this iteration I took all the points that were within a certain distance of one another and connected them to create linking structures between individual strands.
SIMULATING DIGITAL
G MYCELIUM TESTING
‘NUTRIENT RICH’ AREAS
AREAS OF POROSITY
‘NUTRIENT RICH’ AREAS
AREAS OF POROSITY
URBAN-AGENCY Rolan Snooks
For my next digital experiment I wanted to concentrate more on branching within the structure in imitation of the structural qualities I identified with the mycelium at the beginning of my project. The structure is formed by manipulating a point cloud. Each ‘node’ is formed by a sphere placed at a point in the point cloud. The closest links between points are found and a slightly concave pipe joins them together.
POINT-CLOUD DIGITAL
D BRANCHING TESTING
POINT-CLOUD DIGITAL
D BRANCHING TESTING
BEAMS
NODES
Using the same script as the previous experiment I tried to generate something a little more structural and using a torus of repel points I created a shell structure with a central column supporting it. I feel like this form is a little too un-curated and lacks a goal.
GENERATING DIGITAL
STRUCTURE TESTING
GENERATING DIGITAL
SINGULAR BRANCHING RES studies
STRUCTURE TESTING
REGULAR TO DIGITAL
I enjoy the interplay between areas of different density across the model. Here I have attempted to mesh the fibrous areas with linear solid blocks. This allows for a range of different geometries to fit a variety of different needs throughout a structure.
BIRD SHOT MODELS Antonio Gaudi
O IRREGULAR TESTING
REGULAR TO DIGITAL
O IRREGULAR TESTING
The last experiment that I rendered was reminiscent of a Gothic arch when it was flipped on its side. I was actually quite surprised with how well it fit when I began analysing it.
REGULAR TO DIGITAL
CLESTORY WINDOWS
NAVE PIERS GOTHIC ARCHES
O IRREGULAR TESTING
STRUCTURE
SUBSTRUCTURE
Step 1: Create bounding geometry. Seperate for areas of different density.
Step 2: Generate points inside geometry, varying density throughout.
GOTHIC VAU DIGITAL
Step 3: Link points together.
ULTING TEST TESTING
Step 4: Pipe the lines and join to regular geometry.
Gothic vaulting is reminiscent of the aesthetic language I have created based around mycelium. The tubular structure mirror the flutes found in Gothic vaults. In this experiment I bound the point generation to the shape of a vault, I’ve tried to vary the density in accordance with the Gothic vault - hence less points in the column and more towards the roof. Key columns are thickened to increase load bearing capacity.
GOTHIC VAU DIGITAL
GOTHIC VAULTING Various
ULTING TEST TESTING
GOTHIC VAU DIGITAL
ULTING TEST TESTING
FABRICATION AND ARCHI
ITECTURAL APPLICATION
Unrolling a module
Here I have extracted one ‘node’ from the vaulting model I made previously. It is simplified down into rings which are then joined together with an organic shape. I hope that I could construct a frame to hold these rings in position so that I can cast in fabric hung between them.
EXTRACTING
PHYSICAL
G MODULES
L MODEL
I repeated the process from the previous page on the whole section of the structure to create a series of modules that could be assembled to form an approximation of the original structure.
EXTRACTING
PHYSICAL
G MODULES
L MODEL
In order to construct these forms I will have to split it into basic modular sections that could hopefully be cast from my sawdust-flour-mycellium mixture. These modules are quite homogeneous so I want to try and vary their size and form in my next iteration.
MODULAR CO
PHYSICAL
ONSTRUCTION
L MODEL
I 3D printed the set of nodes that I created in order to get a feel for the structure in reality before fabricating it with cloth casting techniques.
MODULAR CO
PHYSICAL
ONSTRUCTION
L MODEL
cloth
635
Cloth pattern wood
95
By using the lines from the exploded module I have sown together a net for the module. Next time I wont kiss cut the lines I have to sow along because it made the fabric weaker at that point.
220
SEWING TH
PHYSICAL
HE MOULD
L MODEL
cloth
200
635
wood
200
95
220
Wooden caps
In order to cast it, I had to create a formwork to keep it rigid. I tried to mix the plaster I was using as a test quite thick so that it wouldn’t run through the holes in the stitching but it dried too quickly and wouldn’t run through the mould fully.
CASTING T
PHYSICAL
THE MOULD
L MODEL
SINGLE N
PHYSICAL
NODE 1:1
L MODEL
JOINT ST
PHYSICAL
TRUCTURE
L MODEL
JOINT ST
PHYSICAL
TRUCTURE
L MODEL
N
Ball Court
The Ossuary
Temple of the deer
Xtoloc Cenote
Observatory ‘El Caracol’
Hous the h wri
Chichén Itzá was an ancient Mayan City located in modernday Mexico. The planning of the buildings were aligned to various astronomical phenomena, most notably the movement of the sun and Venus, believed to be brothers in the Mayan religion.
CHICHÉN
RESEA
Sacred Cenote
Tzompantli Venus Platform
El Castillio
se of hidden iting
N ITZĂ
ARCH
Temple of the Warriors
Group of a thousand columbs
Building alignments: Sunset at equinox Northernmost position of Venus Southernmost position of Venus
The building is aligned with the passage of Venus and the solstice suns.
EL CAR
RESEA
RACOL
ARCH
El Caracol is named after a snail due to its spiral stairs. In the half-ruined higher tower of El Caracol, three openings survive. These three openings are small, narrow, and irregularly placed, suggesting that they are actually viewing shafts. It turns out that these windows do in fact align with important astronomical sightlines. Looking through these windows a thousand years ago, observers could have watched for Venus rising at its northern and southern extremes, as well as the equinox sunset.
Kukulkan the feathered serpent god; a representation of him appears on the steps of El Castillo during the spring and fall equinoxes.
Mayan pictograph of V
THE MAYA
RESEA
Venus showing the its orbital cycle.
AN VENUS
ARCH
Mould before filling
Filling process (with help from Ollie Mitchel)
Finished structure with ad-hoc supports to hold in shape.
JOINT ST
PHYSICAL
TRUCTURE
L MODEL
I partially removed part of the skin of the model to show the structure within. It wasn’t strong enough in some places to support itself without the cloth.
JOINT ST
PHYSICAL
TRUCTURE
L MODEL