Mycoforms: Using Fungi in Design and Architecture — Central Texas Mycological Society

Fungi offer a range of design and architectural applications from furniture and product packaging to insulation and regenerative building material. In this talk learn more about how to leverage the wisdom and materiality of fungi to create forms, sculptures and practical designs from a variety of substrates inoculated with fungal spores and nutrients in a mold. Given several days to grow, the mycelium—the threadlike root structure of the fungi—expands, increasing the substrate’s density and rigidity. Designer and educator Christopher Kennedy will share a protocol for using an accessible kit available from Ecovative, as well as DIY methods to experiment with fungi as both sculpture form and building material. No previous experience needed.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Christopher Kennedy is the assistant director at the Urban Systems Lab, The New School and lecturer in the Parsons School of Design. Kennedy’s research focuses on understanding the socio-ecological benefits of spontaneous urban plant communities in NYC, and the role of civic engagement in developing new approaches to environmental stewardship and nature-based resilience. As an artist and designer Kennedy creates site-specific projects that examine conventional notions of “nature,” interspecies agency, and biocultural collaboration.