Mushroom Brick, unlike the simplicity of the name, it’s so much more than just alternative building material which has a “greener” carbon footprint. Mushroom bricks are similar to bricks made using hemp and straw. Mushroom bricks were developed to serve exactly this purpose. Mushroom brick houses have stated coming up in and they are not only challenging the norm when it comes to building materials but also taking on conventional designs.
“The bricks have the feel of a composite material with a core of spongy cross grained pulp that becomes progressively denser towards its outer skin,”. “The skin itself is incredibly hard, shatter resistant, and can handle enormous amounts of compression.”
The ancient structure of mushrooms, particularly Mycelium (the vegetative part of the mushroom) meets new age computer technology and engineering. Currently, art installations are also being made using mushroom bricks in New York to bring focus on the availability of the technology and for funding to get the research going to allow better and sturdier structures to be possible in the future.
Mycelium is a surprisingly hearty material. The mushroom itself is hydrophobic and resistant to a large amount of stress. It can also be grown specifically to meet the requirements of the particular application in the intended structure, by switching up mold formations as well as the substrate used to grow it.
“Each mushroom in the genus has its own specific features and ideal conditions for growth”. You can also exercise control over the growing process by changing the mushroom strain and the typology of the substrate in which it’s grown. It’s incredibly malleable, because it takes the shape of whatever mold you put it in.
Builders can also use the substrate to control the density of the brick. “Mycelium itself is really low density, which helps it to grow inside the fiber of the substrate that you choose. By adjusting the density and the porosity of your substrate, you can control the density of the resulting material, creating, for example, an insulator material by encouraging denser growth.
