THe goal: structural mycelium
Since the advent of mycelium based composites in 2006, the goal, for many, has always been to discover a way to grow a structural, load-bearing formulation (2,3)
Always described in the literature as having “foam-like,”(1,2,3,4) properties, mycelium composites have found their way into a few, non-structural applications
some of the most important being:
+ As a 1:1 replacement for foam packaging
+ As insulating wall panels
+ As a 1:1 substitute for animal leather
Appels, Freek, and Han Wosten. “Mycelium Materials.” Reference Module in Life Sciences, 2020, doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-809633-8.21131-X.
Elsacker, Elise, et al. Mycelium-Based Materials at the Dawn of the Anthropocene. 2019, pp. 1083–90, doi:10.1201/9781315229126-129.
Jones, Mitchell, et al. “Engineered Mycelium Composite Construction Materials from Fungal Biorefineries: A Critical Review.” Materials & Design, vol. 187, Feb. 2020, p. 108397, doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2019.108397.
Yang, Zhaohui, et al. “Physical and Mechanical Properties of Fungal Mycelium-Based Biofoam.” Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, vol. 29, Mar. 2017, p. 04017030, doi:10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0001866.
