Fungal materials seem to be everywhere in our lives and their applications seem limitless. But there are also fundamental questions that have yet to be answered. ‘Fungi are actually quite complex, they are more like animals than plants.’

Mould at home is not a pleasant thought. But there are researchers who want to make it happen, and they are researching ways to build houses and furniture from fungi. These researchers are talking specifically about mycelium, the network of filaments that fungi produce as they grow, which can be dried into a lightweight, durable and easy-to-use product. And the possibilities with it seem almost endless. 

To make mycelium materials, you mix fungi with a substrate that acts as a food source, then place it in a warm and humid room to grow. When you have enough material, you bake it to kill the fungi and you are left with a fairly porous looking but strong material. ‘The fungi grow through the waste stream and bind the particles together with their filaments’, says Han Wösten, professor of microbiology at Utrecht University. ‘It’s a fairly simple process that’s very sustainable, because fungi love waste products like sawdust. They can extract nutrients from almost anything.’