MADE+MYCELIUM_Behind the scene

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