There is an increased need to find sustainable building materials for the construction industry as we face challenges such as, global warming, fast depletion of natural resources and fossil fuels. It is difficult to achieve net zero level energy for buildings. The goal is to look at nature to find solutions. We need building materials that use less energy in their life cycle process. Nature is the best teacher around us, as time and again, it shows us how everything around us reacts at normal temperature and does not need extra energy to occur. All our inventions have already appeared in nature such as the most clever architectural struts and beams reflected in lily pads. With a focus on Mycelium, the vegetative part of a fungus, this research explores its alternate uses as a living brick. For our project we examine the growth properties of Mycelium by combining it with glass to form a new composite material to use. Growth is one of the natural processes in any living organism, and our project aims to explore the properties of Mycelium as a living material to provide sustainable design solutions. The organism, Mycelium, grows at room temperature. It feeds on natural local feedstock like husk wheat, corn stock, etc., and it can be naturally developed into a fibrous hardened block of Mycelium material. Incorporating such natural organism behavior as innovations in architecture and design will provide a new approach to using composite materials, moving towards a more sustainable future. This paper consists of conducting hands-on lab experiments to create a new material, a composite Mycelium-glass brick unit, as well as, exploring other properties of Mycelium. Furthermore, we discuss the uses of glass as an aggregate for the Mycelium substrate. The tools and methodology used for this research are an experimental continuous trial and error, which involves a student focused lab setting. Presently, the experiment has yielded unexpected results, however it provides more insight about the properties of Mycelium and combining it with a different material.

Keywords: Mycelium, glass, bio design, Ecovative, fungi, grown materials, sustainable design, composite, biomimicry, light, transmittance, architecture, bonding capacity, Bruce Goff.