in collaboration with biolab seoul, kuo duo has created a series of masks made from mushroom mycelium. developed for a public workshop at gwacheon national science museum, the masks intend to showcase the advantages of this sustainable biomaterial and its potential application. 

kuo duo creates mushroom mycelium masks to promote biomaterials designboom

images courtesy of kuo duo

 

 

mycelium, a vegetative part of fungus, consumes natural waste to grow into the desired shape. it has a white color and soft texture like drawing paper. from that, kuo duo came up with the idea to design playful masks that hark back to people’s childhood. there are five mask designs, each of which is inspired by the natural shapes of various mushroom types. the design duo went through the process of growing mycelium in mask molds several times, concentrating on creating high strength, dense and white surfaces.

kuo duo creates mushroom mycelium masks to promote biomaterials designboom

 

 

during the process, kuo duo discovered another characteristic of the material. after experimenting with various conditions, they found that the more times the mycelium was grown and decomposed, the stronger the mycelium became, and the whiter the surface grew. repeating the process three or four times achieved the optimum strength and surface for the masks. however, if mycelium exceeds a certain period of time, the surface starts to turn yellow.

kuo duo creates mushroom mycelium masks to promote biomaterials designboom

 

 

the designers feel that the more they study the material, the more advanced it becomes, and the more people know, the more the development increases. for this reason, kuo duo wants to show the potential of mycelium in an easy-to-understand way through workshops with biolab seoul, who has been working to introduce various biomaterials to the public. the masks kuo duo designed have been used for the biomaterial workshop at gwacheon national science museum in november 2020.

kuo duo creates mushroom mycelium masks to promote biomaterials designboom

kuo duo creates mushroom mycelium masks to promote biomaterials designboom

kuo duo creates mushroom mycelium masks to promote biomaterials designboom

kuo duo creates mushroom mycelium masks to promote biomaterials designboom

kuo duo creates mushroom mycelium masks to promote biomaterials designboom

kuo duo creates mushroom mycelium masks to promote biomaterials designboom

kuo duo creates mushroom mycelium masks to promote biomaterials designboom

kuo duo creates mushroom mycelium masks to promote biomaterials designboom

kuo duo creates mushroom mycelium masks to promote biomaterials designboom

 

 

project info:

 

project name: mushroom mycelium mask
design: kuo duo

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: lynne myers | designboom