Redefining Construction Through Living Materials and Digital Fabrication

Towards Architecture That Is Grown Rather Than Built

Imagine a world where buildings are not merely constructed, but cultivated.
A world where walls grow within custom molds, and building materials are derived from the earth’s natural filtration system.
This scene might seem like science fiction, yet it became a tangible reality in 2024 at Seoul National University of Science and Technology, with the emergence of the Mycelial Hut project, offering a fresh vision for the future of construction.

From Industrial Construction to Biotic Architecture

This project was designed by Yong Ju Lee Architecture during a critical period of profound shifts in architectural thinking.
Today, the construction sector is one of the largest contributors to global carbon emissions, making it imperative to rethink design methods and materials, not as an intellectual luxury, but as an environmental necessity.

Roots of the Crisis: When Architecture Became Detached from Nature

For over ten thousand years, architecture evolved alongside humanity, maintaining a strong connection with nature.
However, with the advent of the twentieth century, the trajectory changed: the focus shifted to efficiency and economy, and concrete and steel became symbols of industrial progress.
Although this transformation enabled an unprecedented acceleration in urban development, it simultaneously severed the link between construction and the environment, deepening the ecological burden faced by modern cities.

The Dawn of Change

In this context, the Mycelial Hut project signals that future architecture may not be about producing more, but about integrating with the living world.
Instead of extracting materials from beneath the earth, they can be cultivated; rather than wasting energy on manufacturing, the forces of natural growth can be harnessed to shape the dwelling.

Sustainability After Crises: The Birth of a New Concept

After a series of global environmental crises and the COVID-19 pandemic, which changed the way humans interact with their surroundings, modern architecture began searching for a new definition of sustainability.
It is no longer limited to reducing emissions or conserving energy; it has extended to rethinking the very materials from which cities are built.

Living Materials Instead of Inert Ones

In recent years, bio-based composite materials have opened wide avenues for architectural innovation.
These materials are not only biodegradable or recyclable, but they also allow nature itself to participate in the construction process, transforming walls and structures into living systems that interact with their surrounding environment.

The Mycelial Hut: An Organic Architecture Experiment

Amid this new direction, the Mycelial Hut project emerged as a practical example of architecture that goes beyond the traditional concept of sustainability.
It employs mycelium, the fungal network that acts as the earth’s natural filtration system, to create architectural structures that grow naturally within custom molds.
In this way, the project offers more than a new building material; it presents an organic architectural vision, making fungi a partner in design and redefining the human-nature relationship in a balanced and reciprocal manner.

From Material Substitution to Redefining Construction

Here lies the true brilliance of the idea; it is not merely about replacing a traditional material with a bio-based one, it goes far beyond that.
It represents a radical shift in the very philosophy of construction, where architecture seeks to unify the concepts of growth, decay, and design into a single process, fundamentally rethinking what “building” truly means.

Towards Integrated Biotic Fabrication

Within this framework, the concept of integrated biotic fabrication emerges as an advanced step in architectural thinking.
Architecture is no longer simply the result of separate mechanical processes; it has become a living system that interacts with its environment and participates in natural life cycles, from formation to decomposition.

Architecture Aware of Its Life Cycle

This concept can be seen as a form of self-aware architecture; architecture that knows how to begin, how to grow, and how to return to nature at the end of its cycle without leaving harmful traces.
In this sense, a building transforms from a silent entity into an active ecological organism, living within the web of nature rather than above it.

The Mycelial Hut: Merging Technology with Nature

The Mycelial Hut project represents one of the most ambitious applications of mycelium as a primary building material.
It does not rely solely on theoretical experimentation; rather, it translates the concept into tangible reality through custom molds produced using robotic 3D printing technology, allowing for precise shaping and high sustainability at the same time.

A Bio-Hybrid Pavilion Combining Wood and Fungi

This design research results in a bio-hybrid pavilion that blends two materials that might seem contradictory at first glance:

• A wooden frame that serves as a supporting structure, providing rigidity and stability.
• Custom fungal panels forming the building’s exterior envelope, giving it an organic texture and a natural response to the environment.

Through this integration, the harmony between living materials and digital technologies is revealed, making the building itself an interactive experience between humans, technology, and nature.

A Unit of Contrasts

This pavilion can be seen as a union of old and new, natural and digital, strength and flexibility.
It embodies the architectural idea of harmony between humans and the environment, where material, form, and technology become integrated elements in a single cycle of creativity and growth.

An Architectural Recipe: From the Lab to Reality

The creation of the Mycelial Hut resembles an experimental architectural recipe, blending scientific experimentation with design creativity.
The goal was not merely to construct a structure, but to understand how mycelium interacts with molds and the environment to produce a living, adaptable building material.

Phase One: Testing Mycelium Substrates

Initially, the team conducted a series of laboratory tests on different types of mycelium substrates to evaluate:

• Their workability and formability.
• Growth speed and structural stability.
• The degree of rigidity they could achieve.

Based on these results, highly precise custom molds were designed using 3D printing technology.

Phase Two: Integrating Artificial Intelligence with Natural Growth

This phase marked the true innovation that made the project unique.
Researchers developed a novel mechanism employing robotic arms to merge digital processes with biological growth systems.
Through this integration, algorithms guide organic growth, while the mycelium itself creates the structure along the programmed paths.

Harmony Between Humans, Machines, and Living Organisms

The result is a large-scale architectural structure that embodies the coexistence of digital computation and living organisms, a scene where robots and fungi collaborate within a single cycle of intelligent growth.
It is a model of integration that would have been unimaginable just a decade ago, yet today it represents a natural step toward the future of architecture, where algorithms and biological systems converge to form a new language of construction.

From Experimentation to Real-World Application

What makes the Mycelial Hut project more than just an exciting research experiment is its ability to tackle real-world challenges associated with using fungal materials in construction.
Success here is not measured solely by the beauty of the idea, but by its practical applicability in a real architectural environment.

The Challenge: A Living and Unpredictable Material

Despite its environmental appeal, mycelium remains structurally weak compared to materials such as concrete or steel.
Its random growth patterns and strict environmental requirements make it a material whose behavior is difficult to predict.
However, these are not flaws of the system but natural characteristics that demand a new design approach, one capable of adapting to nature rather than attempting to dominate it.

The Solution: Material-Conscious Engineering

By employing form-finding techniques, custom molds, and a supportive wooden frame, the design team managed to create a delicate balance between industrial support and biotic growth.
Through this approach, the project demonstrates that composite living materials can be integrated into contemporary architecture, not by overstating their capabilities, but by celebrating their organic properties as part of the building’s structural beauty.

A Philosophy of Acceptance, Not Domination

Instead of trying to make mycelium behave like steel, the project chose to embrace the true nature of the fungus, its relative weakness, slow growth, and sensitivity to environmental factors.
This gives the experiment a profound philosophical dimension: architecture that learns from nature, not to dominate it, but to coexist in harmony and shared function.

The Importance of Site in the Sustainable Architecture Experience

The site plays a pivotal role in the success of the Mycelial Hut project.
This bold work was established within a university campus to make the concept of sustainable architecture tangible and close to daily life, rather than remaining a mere theoretical notion.

Architecture That Interacts with People

The project is not a hidden laboratory or just a display at a scientific conference; it is present in the everyday life of people:

• Students pass by it daily.
• Visitors encounter it within its open space.

In this way, architecture transforms from an abstract idea into an interactive and visible experience that encourages reflection on new approaches to sustainable design.

A Living Extension of Nature

Through its site and organic composition, the project invites everyone to imagine a future where buildings respond to their environment.
Here, the structure is not a foreign object in nature but a living extension of it, crafted from its natural components, reflecting the idea that architecture can be a harmonious and sustainable part of the surrounding ecosystem.

Reimagining Construction

Today, we are witnessing a radical shift in architectural thinking that goes beyond mere sustainability slogans.
When building materials can decompose after use, when construction occurs through cultivation rather than extraction, and when robots program the molds in which fungi grow, we are not merely reducing environmental impact, we are reimagining the very essence of construction.

The Next Revolution in Architecture

The Mycelial Hut project suggests that the next revolution will not come from stronger concrete or lighter steel, but from learning from and interacting with living systems.
By integrating digital fabrication with biological growth, Yong Ju Lee Architecture has created a model that combines:

• Modernity and authenticity
• High technology and the spirit of the earth
• Experimentation and practical functionality

The New Question: Rethinking Our Relationship with Nature

The real question is no longer: Can we build with fungi?
The project has proven that we indeed can.
The more important question now is: Are we ready to rethink our full relationship with materials, growth, and the built environment?
At Seoul National University of Science and Technology, it seems this conversation has already begun, marking the start of sustainable, living, and ecologically aware architecture.

✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight

The Mycelial Hut project presents a clear vision of how living materials can be integrated with digital design, highlighting new possibilities in sustainable architecture. On one hand, the project demonstrates how fungi can actively participate in shaping architectural structures, opening the door to thinking about building systems that are more integrated with nature.

On the other hand, several challenges remain unresolved or limited in their current application: the relative weakness of fungal materials compared to traditional ones, the difficulty of precisely controlling growth, and the project’s reliance on specific environmental conditions. All of this makes it a real challenge to replicate the experiment or generalize it on a larger scale.

The project also raises questions regarding economic feasibility, long-term maintenance, and compliance with conventional building standards, indicating that the concept remains in an experimental exploratory phase rather than a ready-to-use practical solution.

Prepared by the ArchUp Editorial Team

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