Fermented Weaves—A Visual Record of Design Enquiry

The technologies of weaving and fermentation represent two of humanity’s most enduring technologies. In the Fungal Architectures project, we investigate their combination in the development of a novel architectural construction concept that utilises mycelium-based composites in conjunction with Kagome weaves. Underlying this investigation is an effort to rethink resources in the making of architecture. This is considered in terms of raw material sourcing with a focus on locality, alternative materialities, material forming processes and the capital infrastructures required for production. Our intention is to develop an architecture that is not reliant upon advanced industrial technologies for its production. Far from being anachronistic, our aim is to reveal fermentation and weaving as deep reservoirs of innovative, disruptive potential, leading to new architectural expressions and production techniques that create a platform for promoting inclusion, equitability, knowledge sharing, community practice and empowerment through accessible craft mastery. In this visual essay, we outline our contributions in relation to the state of the art and offer insight into our practice-based research methodology. This is visually presented as a journey through the project development. Our practice-based approach combines physical and digital experimentation with the objective of developing both the construction concept and the requisite design tools and workflows.