{"id":3216,"date":"2025-08-27T13:44:01","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T13:44:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/?p=3216"},"modified":"2025-08-27T13:44:01","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T13:44:01","slug":"from-mushrooms-to-new-architecture-the-rise-of-living-self-healing-buildings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/3216\/from-mushrooms-to-new-architecture-the-rise-of-living-self-healing-buildings\/","title":{"rendered":"From mushrooms to new architecture: the rise of living, self-healing buildings"},"content":{"rendered":"

EU-funded researchers are cultivating fungi on agricultural waste to create smarter and greener construction materials able to adapt and react to their environment, and even repair themselves.<\/p>\n

By<\/em> Anthony King<\/p>\n

In his office in the Netherlands, Professor Han W\u00f6sten holds up a hard sponge-like block for show.\u00a0It is a material he made in 2012 using the intricate rooting network of fungi.\u00a0He has bold predictions about the potential of this stuff.<\/p>\n

\u201cTen years from now, we should have the first fungal buildings,\u201d said W\u00f6sten, a professor of molecular biology at Utrecht University.<\/p>\n

He is not talking about mouldy walls, but something far more exciting \u2013 materials that are alive, sustainable, and full of potential.<\/p>\n

W\u00f6sten studies how different fungi operate within a mycelium\u00a0\u2013\u00a0nature\u2019s internet, a living network of threads that nourishes fungi and connects plants by sharing resources and information.<\/p>\n

He is now engineering fungal \u201cthreads\u201d into sustainable, biodegradable alternatives to plastic, wood and leather \u2013 materials already sparking new uses in fashion, furniture and construction.<\/p>\n

Future-proof \u201cliving\u201d buildings<\/strong><\/p>\n

W\u00f6sten is part of a team of researchers from Belgium, Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK who are\u00a0exploring a radical idea: what if the materials we build with could grow, repair themselves, and even sense their environment?<\/p>\n

This EU-funded research initiative, called Fungateria, is developing engineered living materials (ELMs) by fusing fungal mycelia with bacteria \u2013 creating adaptable, self-healing materials that do what conventional products cannot.<\/p>\n

Unlike traditional materials like concrete or plastic, ELMs can\u00a0grow, repair themselves, sense changes in their environment, and sometimes even adapt over time.<\/p>\n

The researchers aim to design these materials so that they combine the strength of natural growth with the functionality of engineering. For example, walls that fix their own cracks, building blocks that absorb CO2<\/sub>, or surfaces that can clean the air.<\/p>\n

The goal is to create\u00a0sustainable, low-waste materials\u00a0that work\u00a0with\u00a0nature instead of against it, opening the door to smarter, greener architecture and products.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlready we can make leather-like materials or insulation panels from these extended fungal networks,\u201d said W\u00f6sten.\u00a0\u201cNow we want to go to the next stage and grow buildings, but in a controlled way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Low waste, high efficiency<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are considerable savings to be made. The construction sector generates more than one third of the EU\u2019s total waste.<\/p>\n

Greenhouse gas emissions from material extraction and manufacturing construction products, as well as construction and renovation of buildings, contribute an estimated 5% to 12% of the total\u00a0national emissions<\/a> of EU Member States. Greater material efficiency could save 80% of those emissions.<\/p>\n

Crucially, while manufacturing concrete emits very large quantities of CO2<\/sub> into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change, fungal-composite buildings could upcycle agricultural waste into building material while reducing carbon emissions.<\/p>\n

The idea of living organisms in buildings may unsettle some people. But for Professor Phil Ayres, a pioneer in the field of biohybrid architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Architecture, Design and Conservation in Copenhagen, this is a social adaptation that will happen over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve eaten foods with living organisms for hundreds of years. We have only been looking at the potential applications of these organisms in the building sector for the last 20 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ayres, who coordinates the work of the Fungateria research team,\u00a0wants to overturn the dogma of his fellow architects that materials are controllable and have fixed properties.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll constructions change over time in quite dramatic ways.\u00a0If we began to think about buildings more like organisms in a continuous state, we might create architecture that is more ecologically connected,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bridging fields from microbiology to architecture and ethics, the researchers are also engaging the public through exhibitions like the Venice Biennale and workshops that challenge traditional ideas of what buildings can be.<\/p>\n

Growth control<\/strong><\/p>\n

A mushroom in the forest is just the tip \u2013 hidden below it is a massive mycelium network, sometimes weighing tonnes.<\/p>\n

For construction, the fungal hyphae \u2013 the thread-like filaments \u00ad\u2013 can be encouraged to feed on agricultural waste to form a strong, lightweight and insulating composite. But controlling this growth is key to making safe, durable structures.<\/p>\n

The fungal species being used by the researchers is the splitgill mushroom, or Schizophyllum commune. <\/em>It primarily grows on dead wood, which poses a potential risk.\u00a0The growth of the mycelium needs to be stopped when the structure is completed so that it does not begin eating through wood supports.<\/p>\n

One method uses nature\u2019s own signals: light and temperature can cue the fungus to grow or stop. Another involves bacteria genetically engineered at the University of Ghent in Belgium.<\/p>\n

These bacteria feed the fungus essential nutrients. Therefore, killing the bacteria halts fungal growth. The same bacteria can even be programmed to release antifungal compounds on command, providing an extra safety layer.<\/p>\n

Future proof<\/strong><\/p>\n

Already, the Fungateria researchers, who will continue their collaboration until late-2026, have shown that the fungus can grow and survive under stressful conditions such as drought and high temperatures. That means it is resilient to the possible impact of changing climatic conditions.<\/p>\n

The research team\u00a0is already envisioning a time when buildings are made from wood and fungus matter grown on agricultural waste in a living process of construction.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the future, I can imagine that we will grow complete buildings where the wood will be the supporting structure and the fungus grows along and between the wood frames,\u201d said\u00a0W\u00f6sten.<\/p>\n

As global demand for sustainable solutions intensifies, this research points to a future where architecture is not just inspired by nature, but made of it \u2013 alive, adaptive and intertwined with the ecosystems around it.<\/p>\n

Research in this article was funded by the European Innovation Council (EIC). The views of the interviewees don\u2019t necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u200bThis article was originally published\u202fin\u00a0Horizon<\/a>\u00a0the EU Research and Innovation Magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n

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