MADE + MYCELIUM
Project description Made+Mycelium is a Christmas Pop-up store for eco brand Seed&Sprout. It features a series of furniture and functional objects made with mycelium (the root system of mushrooms). This biological material creates a unique effect, which embodies the company’s ethos and emphasis on product end-of-life, reusability, and biodegradability. Made+Mycelium resulted from an interdisciplinary design-build studio run at Swinburne University. It drew together students from architecture, interior, industrial design, product design engineering and architectural engineering. The brief involved providing an interior design for the store, and making a series of mycelium objects that are both decorative and functional. Apart from working with an experimental material, another unique challenge that the design team faced was Melbourne entering its 6th lockdown due to COVID-19, and travel was restricted to a 5km radius from each person’s home restriction, just after the project commenced. Thus, the team lost access to the university’s fabrication and workshop facilities. The team was tasked to rethink the relationship between design and making ,and turn the constraints into opportunities. In response, the team used only household, second-hand, and discarded items for moulding and growing the mycelium objects. After growing the objects, these items were either returned to their original use, sold back to the marketplace, or formed part of the final object. As a result, the objects with unique stories behind them, such as Christmas trees made with toilet rolls, stools assembled from salvaged chair parts, plant pots made with egg cartons, and plinths moulded from bookshelves.
Project team: Canhui Chen, John Sadar, Adele Easton, Bailey Harper, Dilan Yariz, Fifi Prayogo, Harry Tweedale, Hayley Boicovitis, Jack Arceri, Louis Ryan, Luka Markulin, Marianne Coetzee, Megan lambert, Tyson Morgan
Interior + Greenhouse Floor Plan
Interior + Greenhouse Floor Plan
Interior + Greenhouse
Hypha Box
Hypha Box Plinth
The plinth was made to display items and store stock such as the Seed & Sprout soap bars. They were also made to be stackable.
Hypha Box Plinth
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Hypha Box Plinth
Upcycled objects
01
Discarded cube shelves
Marketplace Find
Standby Storage
02
Use as a Mould
Prepare
01
Stock, Cut, Scrap, Template, Tape, Drill & Place Stock
Cut
Scrap
Template
Tape
Drill
Setup
Place
Process
01
Clean, Fill, Measure & Condition
Clean
Fill
Measure
02
Condition
Growth Day to Day Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Hypha Box Standard bookshelf and packaging material used as growing medium
Hypha Box Moulding object returned to original use (right)
Grow Glow
Grow Glow Lighting
Grow Glow Lighting
Grow Glow are a series of segmented circles which are wall-mounted. Programmable LED strips provide a soft backlight around the edges.
A combination of pressed flowers and leaves were embedded into the mycelium for visual interest.
Grow Glow A series of cooking pans were used as moulds, plywood backing digested and bonded with mycelium to provide mounting structure for electronics
Grow Glo Wall lights with dried botanicals
Grow Glo Wall lights with dried botanicals
Grow Glow Electronics
Pendant Lights
Pendant Lights Lighting
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Pendant Lights Lighting
Pendant Lights Fabrication
Lamp shades were recycled and used to mould the mycelium into pendant lights.
Pendant Lights Lamp shades returned to its original use
Gemini Chairs
Gemini Chairs Seating
The chair design pays homage to the constellations in taking two discarded objects of the same nature (twins) and conjoining them through the use of mycelium.
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Gemini Chairs Fabrication
Toadstul
Toadstul Seating
Stools made with a mycelium seating top and recycled chair legs.
Stools were scattered around the store to provide seating for customers.
Seating - Stool Chosen Concept Resources
Seating - Stool Chosen Concept
stool 1
stool 2
stool 3
Seating - Stool Fabrication
mycelium
Assembly process *plastic/fabric to be placed at the perimeter to create texture
2
1
3
Seating - Stool Fabrication stool 1
stool 2
stool 3
Seating - Stool Fabrication
Mycelium to cover holes on the legs
Seating - Stool Fabrication
Day 1
Day 5
Day 2
Day 8
Day 3
Day 11
Day 4
Day 19
Day 22
Seating - Stool Fabrication stool 1
stool 2
stool 3
Taken: 13/10/2021
Seating - Stool Final product stool 1
stool 2
stool 3
Taken: 10/11/2021
Planter / Seat
Planter / Seat Seating
Multipurpose mycelium objects that can be used as a seat or a planter. These objects focused on using a mix of mediums such as bubble wrap, cardboard and egg cartons to create an array of textures.
Planter Stool Using home and found items Name: Mycelant
A. Corrugated card B. 450D metal tray C. Double layer card D. Spacing (cardboard strips) A.
C.
B.
D.
Mycelant Design Mould
A. 440H x 450D corrugated card B. 450D metal tray C. Mycelium D. 370H x 370D corrugated card E.
370H x 310D bucket
F. Spacing (cardboard strips) G. Spacing (folded material)
Materials Process
Process
Pick up materials
Assemble moulds
Moulds finished
Once everything is sanitised it’s time to fill
Growth Progress
Day 1
Day 4
Day 8
Growth Progress
Day 9
Day 9
Day 13
Planter / Seat Fabrication
Planter / Seat Seating
Planter Design Bubble Wrap Mould
A. Home Bubble wrap B. plastic Pot C. corrugated paper wrap
A.
A. Bubble wrap Diametre: 430mm Hight: 500mm
B.
plastic Pot Diametre: 350mm Hight: 330mm
C.
Corrugated Paper wrap 1200mm x 10m
A.
Planter Design Bubble Wrap Mould Process B.
plastic Pot Diametre: 350mm Hight: 330mm
C.
Corrugated Paper wrap 1200mm x 10m
A. Home Bubble wrap B. plastic Pot C. corrugated paper wrap
A. Bubble wrap Diametre: 430mm Hight: 500mm
A.
Planter Design Bubble Wrap Mould Process
A. Home Bubble wrap B. plastic Pot C. corrugated paper wrap
Mycelium
B.
C.
A.
Planter Design Bubble Wrap Design
● ●
Can fit and remove plant pots inside with ease Can flip planter to be used as a stool for seating
A.
Planter/Stool Design Bubble Wrap Design Manufacture Name: Fungi Pouf
A.
Planter / Seat Fabrication
Planter/Stool Design Bubble Wrap Design Name: Fungi Pouf
A.
Planter / Seat Seating
Mushratta
Planter Design Hard rubbish / Rattan Basket Design
Hard Rubbish
Chosen Basket / Marketplace pot
Planter Design Hard rubbish / Rattan Basket Design
Basket wrapped
Air holes punctured
Mold filled with Mycelium
Planter Design Hard rubbish / Rattan Basket Design
Before
After
Mycelium consuming basket
Planter Design Hard rubbish / Rattan Basket Design
Final Planter Design Hard rubbish / Rattan Basket Design
Planter / Seat
Planter/Stool Design Egg carton mould Name: Eggcellent Stool
A.
Planter/Stool Design Egg carton mould Name: Eggcellent Stool
A.
Planter/Stool Design Egg carton mould Name: Eggcellent Stool
A.
Planter / Seat Seating
Xmush Tree
Xmush Tree Christmas Tree
Tree Base Proposed
Tree Growing Plan
Xmush Tree Fabrication
Xmush Tree Fabrication
Xmush Tree Fabrication
Tree Decorations
Tree Decorations Fabrication
Soap Cylinders
Soap Cylinders Packaging
These cylindrical containers were made to be used as packaging for the Seed & Sprout soap bars.
The soap containers fit perfectly into the Hypha Box.
Soap Cylinders Packaging
Soap Cylinders Fabrication
Cut PVC pipes were used to mould the container body and lid.
Soap Cylinders Fabrication