Remediating architecture: A bio-hybrid approach employing fungal mycelium

This paper describes a speculative approach to in-situ remediation that develops a bio-hybrid architecture and a novel architectural program. The concept targets urban polluted areas providing a novel form to decontaminate sites that traditional remediation processes don’t offer. The central objective is to use fungi as an organic decomposer of contaminants, supported by 3d print technologies for soil distribution and fabrication. The work investigates the concept of myco-remediation through a dynamic proposition that follows remediation and architectural objectives. Notions of continual adaptation and modification are embedded by spatial and material redistribution through the program of a “Restless labyrinth” – an open leisure landscape. The feasibility and opportunity of a periodically reconfigured landscape was tested using 1) empirical experimentation of 1:1 prototypes to validate assumptions for 3d printing soil-based material with material grading and fungal biocompatibility; 2) computational tools to explore architectural objectives through studies for material and spatial adaptation.