Mushroom Tech Could Be the Next 3D Printing

Humans have a long history of building shelters out of whatever is available. Mud and straw. Bamboo. Sticks and leaves. These were acceptable shelter materials for early humans and are good enough when stuck on Survivor or irretrievably lost in the forest. Wood and stone continue to be relied on today. All of these represent the pinnacle in sustainable building materials. No emissions, no manufacturing, no construction machinery-just lots of labor and sweat effort.

Fast forward hundreds of years, and now 3D printers promise a future of perfectly-manufactured and customized houses. One day, people could literally design their house on a PC, and then print out real-life Lego bricks to build a modular home.

As such, the idea of living in toadstools seems a) archaic, and b) unrealistic. Mushrooms are destroyed with a kick of the toe or chomp of the jaw. Though we occasionally depict cartoons or fairy tales living in toadstools, we've never considered the building codes of the Smurfs. However some construction innovations may lead to structures and homes surviving solely on mushroom tech.

Clearly the cap and stem of a mushroom isn't enough to be a viable construction material. Besides, once a mushroom goes from bulb to cap, the mushroom is preparing to die. However, some developers envision a house made of mycelium bricks-the cellular organization that sprouts mushrooms. To do so, first bricks of substrate must be prepared. They include the proper nutrients, water and growing materials needed for the mycelium to flourish. These substrates are pressed into a mold and the spores are introduced, which colonize the substrate with an off-white, cottony texture (the mycelium).

Once colonized the brick is removed from the mold and dried out. This kills the mycelium and mushrooms therefore wouldn't grow. A fiber shell of recycled aluminum or other material is placed over the bricks to improve appearance and abrasion resistance. Engineering tests have rated the material as strong as wooden support beams and it's also nontoxic, fire-proof, mold-resistant, water-resistant, and more insulative than fiberglass. The mycelium can be even grown on substrates such as corn husks, plant material that can't even be fed to animals. It's as sustainable as it gets-the only energy is human effort.

The idea is mycelium bricks could grow in a couple weeks anywhere in the world where the conditions are right (80° F, high humidity, and enough growing substrates). Rather than using plastics, this technology could "bio-print" just about anything. One company is offering a grow-it-yourself kit that allows you to grow your own mycelium structure and then shape it into whatever you want.

There is no certainty that fungal structures will ever take hold. Yet last June an installation at the New York Museum of Modern Art showcased this technology with an outdoor pavilion of mycelium structure. Unfortunately it was removed last fall, but there is little doubt the structure would have lasted through the winter. Even if mycelium structures don't catch on, it is certainly an interesting concept that shows some of the oldest materials remains the best materials.