Mycelium as Samorost by Buřinka

Introducing Samorost – another in a series of innovative projects by Buřinka, which sees mycelium as a huge potential and the future of modern and, above all, sustainable construction.

When you say mushrooms, most of us think of a mushroom in the forest or a stir-fry. But fungi are far more complex organisms, far stronger than most of us think. There are about six million species in the world, and they’re practically everywhere. They are wonderful in all that they can do, and impressive in all that they can be used for, or made into. In our project, we are focusing on the use of mycelium, which, as a system of interwoven filaments, together with organic waste, can create new and unexpected materials. Can you imagine planting a flower in a pot made from mycelium, sitting in a chair or picking up a book from a shelf created by the interwoven fibres of mushrooms? Science fiction? A joke? No, that’s reality.

What is mycelium?

The mycelium is the part of a fungus that remains hidden in its substrate. Here it lives its own life, spreading and connecting and integrating the different parts of its environment with its filaments, called hyphae. It is a system of interwoven fungal filaments that grow through the soil in networks up to tens of kilometres long. The mycelium can be thought of as the roots of a plant, except that roots have only a few centimetres of fibres per cubic centimetre of soil, whereas mycelium has tens or even hundreds of metres.
It grows and expands in its environment, looking for any patch of its substrate from which it can draw energy that it can use in some way. It joins the parts together to create solid formations. It acts as a natural glue.

Properties of mycelium

Mycelium has one amazing property. When you crush it and put it in a mould, it stays alive. It sticks out its hyphae from the individual parts, which scout around and connect to the hyphae next to them. They recognise each other because they form one organism. The mycelium then grows back together to form an object in the shape determined by the mould. Subsequent drying or heating kills it and stops it from growing any further. You then obtain a finished product ready for further processing (impregnation, dyeing) and use. We want to focus on the use of this material in the construction industry due to its properties such as strength or excellent insulation.
From this natural material, which we first allow to live, grow and strengthen, then crush it and give it a specific shape, we can produce virtually anything. It is also not unrealistic to use it as an ecological alternative in construction. And that is the kind of research we now want to encourage, to get clearer ideas and insights into how mycelium could be used in construction.
We have a long way to go, lots of tests and trials, ideas, successes and missteps. But that’s the way it should be, and with all this we enter into this new project. Follow us and keep your fingers crossed!

To be used in the construction industry, the material needs to be professionally lab tested in areas that are critical to the industry. That’s why we put the mycocomposite through the necessary tests during the summer of 2023.