bioMATTERS combines mycelium, clay and industrial waste to 3D print vessels and bowls

Biomatters 3D print mycelium and clay as interior objects

New York City and London biodesign studio bioMATTERS mixes mycelium, clay, and domestic and industrial waste materials to 3D print bio-digitally designed vessels and bowls. The family of interior objects glimpses at the potential of 3D printing to generate robust and recycled objects for homes and spaces using organic and waste materials such as mycelium and clay. bioMATTERS aims to create biodegradable products with the entrance of its new series named MYCO-CLAY, adopting novel bio-fabrication workflows that combine mycelium, or fungal networks of entangled hyphae filaments, with earthenware clay, a natural sedimentary material with high plasticity.

images courtesy of bioMATTERS

Computational and generative design with 3D printing

bioMATTERS, a biodesign studio led by Nancy Diniz and Frank Melendez, says that the vessels and bowls reflect a contemporary post-digital aesthetic. They come to life through computational precision, generative design, and 3D printing technologies, inspired by the biomechanical growth processes found in nature. bioMATTERS developed the vessels first. They used computational design decoding growth algorithms which gave them different morphologies for the design. Feeding the 3D printer with the generated design, the outcome recalls archaic, cavernous and petrologic vessels sprung to existence using modern 3D printing and computational technologies.

MYCO-CLAY vessel, computationally designed and 3D printed mycelium, clay, and upcycled waste materials

bioMATTERS works on the bowls next using similar techniques of computational design. Their foundations, however, emerge from traditional basket weaving techniques, and their layered, criss-cross patterns show up after being woven. A range of weaving parameters was considered by bioMATTERS before they inputted the design into the 3D printer. The beading effect with variable protrusions of the bowls then makes its way into the byproduct, having a similar frame and resemblance with their vessel siblings yet announcing their distinctive characters portrayed by their digital woven patterns.

bioMATTERS fuses mycelium and clay to create 3D-printed bio digitally crafted objects

Mycelium grows over clay and waste materials

Given the speed of 3D printing and generative design technologies and processes, producing multiple pieces of these interior objects made of mycelium and clay can be quite quick. After being 3D printed, mycelium grows for a period of one or two weeks until it grows and colonizes throughout the vessels and bowls’ exterior. As time passes, the mycelium becomes denser and forms a thicker tissue, making it look like a network of spider webs. The final pieces express and let the natural growth of mycelium stand out as a bio-glaze over the terracotta clay and industrial waste materials, all underlined by the slow graduation of their innate colors and textures.

MYCO-CLAY vessel, detail

bioMATTERS says that mycelium and clay are abundant and ubiquitous materials. Mycelium, which is regenerative, can be cultivated and is considered one of the first terrestrial living organisms to inhabit land. On the other hand, clay is a material used by humans dating back multiple millennia for making art, tools, and architecture, is plentiful these days and can be locally sourced. The use of domestic and industrial waste materials to 3D print these vessels and bowls is to usher in upcycling and help create a nutrient-rich substrate in which the living mycelium grows. ‘The pieces are intended to promote a cultural shift towards design and fabrication with biomaterials while enhancing interior spaces with a display of contemporary bio-aesthetics and bio-digital craft,’ says bioMATTERS.

MYCO-CLAY vessel, detail.