C Meditation harnel matt miller
options studio: the circular installation 12/16/2020
This design project aims to explore the creation of a space for an individual or a small group of people to meditate on the cyclical properties of life, death, and rebirth in nature as a way to re ach acceptance of this process in a spiritual manner outside of therealm of traditional religion.
The concept of forest succession explains that early species in a landscape grow, live, and die. Through this process of life and decomposition they enrich their environment to support the development of further life, with each new wave of species being stronger and more stable than the last.
As humans largely are creatures of nature, an optimist can believe that we live off of the efforts and energy of past humans, plants, and animal species. Of all the forms of life involved in this process, the mushroom which grows from decay is emblematic of this process. These observations can remind us that we live, we die, and in death we are transformed into future new life that is enriched and imbued with the qualities of us.
For this reason, an overgrown ruin is the perfect place to contemplate these ideas. From nearly any vantage point, one is surrounded by the sights and smells of both life and death. One can see dead and decaying leaves, broken twigs and branches, the discarded relics of human construction, but also thriving animal and plant life.
A space to meditate on these ideas should the possess sights, smells, and sounds that evoke this experience. When entering the space, one should be confronted with musty, earthy, and damp aromas that evoke the forest floor and the darker places of the natural world. In this way, the goal of this project is to create a positive space that echoes these ideas, encourages visitors to confront these concepts, and serve as a means of easing our discomfort with death.
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S ite plan
1”=50’
0 aerial view
first glimpse of ruins
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ruined stair at south corner
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middle stair on site
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rear corner ruins
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backside of stairs
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interior landscape
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The proposed structure lies against the focal stair ruin adjacent to the existing path that cuts through the site. Visitors will be beckoned in by it’s mysterious qualties and circulate around the rotunda. After experiencing the interior, they can continue through the remainder of the site with a new perspective.
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S iting diagram
applications
Symbiotic species typically occur on the forest floor and around the roots of trees.They help plants extract minerals and water from the soil, and recieve sugars as food from the plants in return.
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parasitic Microscopic species that feed on healthy organisms, taking more from them than they provide or hastening death.
saprophytic Species that occur near or on decaying organic matter. These species feed on the matter and return the nutrients to the soil that will foster new life.
Types of mushrooms
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Mycellium, the strands of fungal life that grow below ground, have potential to be grown as a dense, fire-resistant, and biodegradable building material akin to masonry units and insulation sheets. Shown to the left is a “mass” of mycellium that is ready to be fruited. If grown in a mold, this mass could take on the appearance of common building materials such as bricks as opposed to a stone.
mycellium grows below ground
artist’s conk (ganoderma applanatum)
false tinder conk (fomes fomentarius)
multicolor gill polydore (trametes betulina)
common morel (morchella esculenta)
oyster (pleurotus ostreatus) These are common saprophytic species in New England forests. Saprophytic mushrooms are most appropriate for the concept of this project, as they are the primary ecosystem components that aid in the cyclical process of death and rebirth in nature. Based on my research, oyster mushrooms are one of the fastest growing mushrooms that can be cultivated indoors.
S aprophytic new england mushrooms
mycellium fungal bricks Mycellium, the strands that comprise the base of fruiting mushrooms can be made to grow in a specific form to create masonry, insulation, and other building materials. The primary components that create this material are:
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Mycellium spawn, grown by specialized farms
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Water to sterilize the substrate food
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Substrate, a type of food for the mycellium to “eat” and grow into the desired form. In my experiments, I have been using oak wood chips
M aterial pallete
mycellium fungal bricks
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stone stair ruins
Exploded material drawing
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Plan
1’=1/4”
1 Composte area ringed with mycellium bricks 2 Dead log seating 2
3 Entrance from Pier Point Road
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4 Captured stair platform 5 Mushroom hallway 1
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25’-0”
S ection
1 Wood dowels cut to create spacer inserts in masonry to thread vertical elements 2 Preliminary placing of spacer 3 Six spacers for six molds 4 Wrapping spacer in electrical tape to prevent consumption by mycellium
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5 Cutting paper guides to align spacers 6 Marking quarter-length segments on guides 7 Using guides to place spacers at quarter points 8 Full suite of molds with fixed spacers wrapped and fastened
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9 Blue oyster mycellium colonized on a substrate of soybean hull, hardwood pellets, water, and gypsum received from Mycoatlantic
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10 After consulting with Patrick Chalmoux from Mycoatlantic, I crushed the existing growths in the bag to prepare to pour into molds sterilized with household bleach cleaner 11 Crushed colonized substrate poured into sterilized molds with as little hand or tool contact as possible 12 Molds are wrapped and sealed with plastic wrap and masking tape 13 A sterilized tool is used to puncture plastic wrap. A coffee filter is taped over the punctures to filter the air exchanged
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14 All six molds are left in a dark cabinet above a kitchen range to try to keep conditions as close to 75 degrees fahrenheit as possible
15 Progress on masonry growth as of 12/7 (7 days since moving substrate from filter bag to molds). Mycellium appears to be growing very well, with no unwanted mold introduction. They will be allowed to continue growing until at least 12/12 (the date printed on the recieved filter bag, based upon optimal growing conditions from the intitial colonization).
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16 Growth progress on 12/13. The mycellium has consumed a lot of the substrate, but could of grown for longer. The time parameters of this project necessitated not allowing the mycellium to grow for any longer. 17 Potentially because the mycellium could still grow, or because the conditions during quarantine that I could create were not optimal, or perhaps because of the disturbance of the substrate when transferring it to the molds, the blocks became partially adhered to the molds and broke when taking them out. 18 The remainder of the mycellium from the filter bag not transferred to molds. This sample became much more dense than the mold samples, potentially due to the disturbance factor.
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19 Finished baked masonry unit.
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M aterial sources
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oyster mushroom grow spawn sourced from local Western-Massachusetts farm
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tap water drawn from Quabbin and Wachusett reservoirs
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wood product for substrate sourced from nearest wood production center to minimize transportation impact. Rot-resistant vertical wood elements can be sourced from same areas
Raw Materials mushrooms forced to grow in a particular form in a mold, then selectively baked to disallow fruiting
fungal growth
Production e
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wood chips and other agricultural waste are produced for substrate as well as reinforcing verticals in structure 4 years or more to decompose
managed forests heated water to sterilize substrate materials
1-3 months to decompose
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M aterial lifecycle
Decomposition
P rototype disposal
I arrived back on site to dispose of the prototypes that I grew on a dismal, overcast day. As I crested the hill up to the ruins, it began to heavily snow. I wanted to dispose of my biodegradable prototype at the original site that inspired the project - the Overlook Shelter Ruins at Franklin Park.
Despite there being production issues resulting in broken bricks, I still wanted to experiment with the threaded vertical elements. Using a real brick, I drove 1/2” wooden dowels into the ground and carefully slotted one of the more successful brick prototypes through it.
After laying the first brick and vertical wooden element, I proceeded to lay the remainder of the five bricks that I had brought to the ruins to simulate a small portion of the structure. Although complicated by the broken bricks, the bricks grown with voids did allow for masonry units to be slotted into place. In these images, the color and texture of the bricks juxtaposed with the colored tones of fallen leaves and twigs are clearly expressed.
I intend to leave the blocks here, on site, to decompose. Shown to the right is an earlier test block that I grew using yellow reishi spawn as opposed to blue oyster. After a little over two weeks, the baked block began to be covered with mold, an indicator of the start of the decomposition process.