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March 21, 2022
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April 4, 2022
Final Prototype BioKnit is installed in "the OME", an experimental test bed for research produced at the HBBE in Newcastle.
What could a biological architecture look like? How can growth replace construction?
A team of designers and scientists from the Hub for Biotechnology and the Built Environment are exploring how 3D knitted fabric can be programmed and applied structurally at human scale using fungi, bacteria, and simple physics. After weeks of material testing and observing living samples, their recent BioKnit Prototype provides a novel solution to upscaling mycelium construction and explores more organic and tactile approaches to architecture.
The BioKnit Prototype brings together biotechnology, digital fabrication, and computation in the production of a monolithic free-standing biohybrid structure. BioKnit was not grown in the lab. Instead the team’s expertise with living materials enabled the growth stage to take place in “The OME”. The prototype is composed of mycelium (the root network of fungi), cellulose (produced by bacteria), and 3D knitting (knitted from wool and linen). These materials have a dramatically lower environmental impact compared to conventional construction materials and provide the opportunity to radically rethink how we build.
What could a biological architecture look like? How can growth replace construction?
A team of designers and scientists from the Hub for Biotechnology and the Built Environment are exploring how 3D knitted fabric can be programmed and applied structurally at human scale using fungi, bacteria, and simple physics. After weeks of material testing and observing living samples, their recent BioKnit Prototype provides a novel solution to upscaling mycelium construction and explores more organic and tactile approaches to architecture.
The BioKnit Prototype brings together biotechnology, digital fabrication, and computation in the production of a monolithic free-standing biohybrid structure. BioKnit was not grown in the lab. Instead the team’s expertise with living materials enabled the growth stage to take place in “The OME”. The prototype is composed of mycelium (the root network of fungi), cellulose (produced by bacteria), and 3D knitting (knitted from wool and linen). These materials have a dramatically lower environmental impact compared to conventional construction materials and provide the opportunity to radically rethink how we build.
Find out more about the process and the final prototype here!
