mycelium brick pavilion by andre kong studio sprouts in new york botanical gardens

homegrown wonderland evokes whimsy of lewis carroll’s tales

Homegrown Wonderland is an organic garden pavilion created by andre kong studio for the New York Botanical Garden’s latest exhibition. As Wonderland: Curious Nature explores the fantastical world of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures, the installation features bricks grown from mycelium — the root structure of mushrooms. This materiality reflects the scene where Alice consumes a mushroom and grows rapidly, evoking a whimsical transformation as she outgrows the White Rabbit’s cottage.

With an enchanting design engineered by Arup, it juxtaposes a quaint, aged timber-frame cottage, scaled down to create an intimate setting, with unexpected walls made from full-sized mycelium bricks. The pavilion is on display in the gardens until October 27th, 2024, after which it will be dismantled. The bricks will be composted, and the timber will be reused.

all images by Marlon Co for NYBG

andre kong studio assembles organic, compostable pavilion

Themes of domesticity, familiarity, and surprise are explored across Homegrown Wonderland. Doors and windows salvaged from local homes in New York further enhance its feeling of the familiar within the pavilion’s setting, while the roof and walls are arranged in perforated patterns, allowing visitors to catch glimpses of the surrounding gardens. These elements create a psychedelic effect, reminiscent of Lewis Carroll’s story’s themes and the psychotropic effects associated with mushrooms.

The amorphous form of andre kong studio’s pavilion seems both supportive and ready to break free, embodying the tension and otherworldliness of the narrative. ‘Our aim is to inspire curiosity and wonder in visitors as they learn about mycelium and its relationship to mushrooms,’ says the London-based studio. As they explore, visitors may feel like Alice herself, wandering into a small house within a vast garden, with dizzying views as they follow the flowing bricks around them.

andre kong studio completes Homegrown Wonderland