The project introduces mycelium based products within the site: a low-tech and sustainable industry in development, with a range of products going from leather, to packagings and insulation. A huge amount of one-use cardboard is needed to ship in all the products sold or used in the industrial spaces of the site. The substrate used to feed the fungus is thus composed of cardboard, sawdust, and coffee ground – the coffee is sourced from the coffee shop in the neighbourhood, and the sawdust from the nearby woodworking shops.
The process starts with sterilization, as the conditions needed to grow Oyster Mushrooms are also ideal for dangerous fungi and bacteria. All substrates found on site are washed and sterilized, then mixed together with fungus spores in bags. The form given at this point will define the form of the final product. These bags are left for 2 weeks in a dark, warm and humid area. After the harvesting stage, the growth of mushrooms must be avoided, so the product is dried at 200 °C and chemically treated to add water resistance and longevity to the product. However, the material stays biodegradable! The water used in the processes is collected on the roof, and recollected at the end of each process to be reused.
The need for sterile space means that some areas are separated from the public. Each floor has a different function, with a central core providing water distribution and used to transport the mycelium vertically. The round shapes of the project are traced by sun patterns and the enclosures are made of mycelium panels. A major goal of the project is to replace styrofoam packaging in the export from the local industries with mycelium packaging. The carbon footprint of plastic is huge, and mycelium as it is grown here is carbon negative, as it is a disposal method of a waste-product.