Archinect - News

What could Trump’s economic plans do for the cost of building green?

2024-11-25T16:46:00-05:00

Proposed tariffs by the incoming Trump administration may increase the prices of many items at the store. But for architects and advocates working on more efficient and sustainable buildings, there’s fear that tariffs could impact specific materials and machines that are key to their work. Higher costs from tariffs, some say, may slow down the pick up of these techniques of residential and commercial construction, and make such buildings more expensive and less attractive to build.

Firms could be hard put to keep pace with the cost of procuring materials like mass timber and products such as heat pumps after the proposed blanket tariffs are enacted, explains FastCompany. This would add stress and uncertainty to the already lagging American building industry, which is considered behind Europe as far as efforts to increase efficiency standards are concerned. Domestic manufacturing would have to rise to the challenge or risk falling back into the wrong kind of "American Exceptionalism" that is both environmentally unproductive and at odds with a global consensus on building sustainability.

Hike in fuel costs drives first increase in construction input prices in six months

2023-09-18T08:00:00-04:00

Construction input prices ticked up 1.5% in August, the first increase in six months, due to a surge in energy costs, according to a new Associated Builders and Contractors’ analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data released Thursday.

These readings come as a shock as the flattening of costs suggested that inflation was cooling. According to a separate analysis from the Associated General Contractors of America, a major increase in diesel fuel costs in August drove the overall increase in materials prices. The producer price index jumped 34.6% last month, which is the largest one-month hike since 1990. In addition, other construction materials such as concrete and switchgear also experienced price increases.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) chief economist Anirban Basu expects future readings to demonstrate excess inflation as labor costs continue to rise, aggressive spending continues, oil-producing nations limit output, and global supply chains reorganize.

Construction input prices have declined almost 4% in one year

2023-06-19T09:00:00-04:00

A new analysis by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) has found that overall construction input prices are 3.7% lower than a year ago. Derived from new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index, the ABC analysis also found that construction input prices fell 0.6% in May alone compared to the previous month.

The drop was fuelled by a decline in all three energy subcategories between April and May, with crude petroleum falling 10.2%, unprocessed energy materials falling 7.8%, and natural gas prices falling 2.0%.

Image credit: Associated Builders and Contractors

“The headline numbers suggest broad-based deflation in construction materials prices,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu about the figures. “But the declines in input prices are less broad than meets the eye. Much of the deflation is tied to energy, steel, and softwood lumber.”

Basu noted that beyond energy, steel, and lumber spheres, there are also notable examples of price inflation. Conc...

Construction input prices drop to 18-month lows

2023-04-17T17:57:00-04:00

A new Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data has shown a year-to-year decline in the cost of construction input prices for the first time in 18 months.

Overall construction input prices are now 0.9% lower compared to March of 2022, while nonresidential construction prices were recorded as having fallen 0.6% during the same time period.

According to the Bureau’s Producer Price Index for March, Iron and Steel as well as Steel Mill Products posted the largest gains since February 2020 at 63.9% and 70.6%, respectively. Prices for Natural Gas and Unprocessed Energy Materials also showed increases. Only eight of the 19 commodities price categories showed decreases since last month, despite the month-to-month decline.

Image: Associated Builders and Contractors

“The good news is that the latest producer price index data, which show broad-based declines in both goods and service...

Swiss researchers have developed a carbon-storing building insulation made from plant-based materials

2023-02-13T15:49:00-05:00

A Swiss research team from Empa's Building Energy Materials and Components Lab explores the potential for using raw, plant-based materials as insulation for buildings.

Led by scientist Dr. Jannis Wernery and researchers from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, the project is based on binding carbon dioxide in insulation materials, preferably waste products from agriculture and forestry, over the long term. This method aims to combat embodied greenhouse gas emissions in buildings by removing carbon from the atmosphere. Carbon stored in biomass can be permanently fixed through the use of heat treatment.

The resulting material, known as biochar, can store carbon dioxide throughout the life of a building and be used again following the deconstruction of a building, reports Rémy Nideröst of Empa. However, Dr. Wernery explains, "there is still a lot to do before the idea can be put into practice."

The researchers must ensure that the new insulation materials can be used as a fe...

FIU Architecture students are getting their feet wet thanks to this long-standing campus tradition

2022-11-17T17:45:00-05:00

This is the 33rd year the "Walking on Water" competition has been held at FIU as part of Professor Jaime Canaves’ Materials & Methods of Construction course. As reported by WSVN Miami , "Not many people can say they can walk on water, but these second-year architecture students at Florida International University need to do in order to get a good grade in the class."

Winners receive $1,000 plus another $1,000 bonus if they can surmount the record, while those whose shoes do not succeed can either swim the expanse in the event for a C grade or, "if they fell and gave up, it was a straight F," reports Dannielle Garcia of WSVN.

Walking on Water at FIU. Video courtesy of FIU The College Tour.

According to Canaves, “The purpose of the assignment is for the students to design and build shoes to be able to cross the lake 175 feet." Students were tasked with researching materials and "put them together and solve the problem of floating and walking, and if they’re successful, they get an A....

UT Austin's Materials Lab awarded $60,000 grant to reframe collection with focus on sustainable materials

2022-08-12T17:30:00-04:00

The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture's Materials Lab and Interior Design Program have been awarded a $60,000 grant from the Angelo Donghia Foundation. The money will be used to reimagine how students learn about materials by reframing the Materials Lab’s existing collection to better highlight sustainable products.

Beginning this fall, two graduate students and one undergraduate interior design student will work closely with Jen Wong, Lecturer and Director of the Materials Lab, to restructure the initiative’s circulating library and digital databases. They will be tasked with employing industry-standard sustainability criteria and certifications from resources, including the Mindful Materials database, the International Living Future Institute, and Building Green, to develop a new classification system for the collection. It will highlight materials relating to circularity, embodied carbon, health and toxicity, and social equity.

“For the Interior Design Progra...

American University in Cairo students develop self-luminous concrete that can glow in the dark

2022-07-15T17:10:00-04:00

A quartet of undergraduate engineering students at the American University in Cairo has developed self-luminescent concrete they say is a possible offset to the material’s poor environmental performance.

Working under the stewardship of Professor Mohamed Nagib AbouZeid, the students were able to develop a sunlight-absorbing concrete that, similar to the natural process known as bioluminescence, releases its energy at night in the form of light rays to offset the high costs of roadway illumination in line with the country’s sustainability goals and ahead of its turn as host of the UN’s COP27 summit in November.

An AUC engineering student holds up a sample of her team's work. Image courtesy The American University in Cairo.

“The idea of our research came from wanting to make an integral construction material, just like concrete, but more sustainable and environmentally friendly in both its creation and function, especially in light of what the world has come to with energy shortages a...

New CTBUH study on tall mass timber gives us a look at the impacts of the material industry-wide

2022-05-26T13:37:00-04:00

A new study from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has revealed important statistics that provide a clearer picture of the present state of tall mass timber construction across the globe.

There are now a total of 66 completed mass timber projects worldwide totaling of least 8 stories or higher. Nearly two-thirds (64% or 54 buildings) of all projects are residential, while office buildings account for 19% (16 buildings), and the mixed-use typology currently makes up 14% (12 buildings). Including projects that are currently under construction or proposed, there were 139 total projects matching the audit’s criteria.

Illustration courtesy of CTBUH

In terms of height, 12 of the 20 tallest structures are located in Europe. Scandinavia had 4 of those, while the UK and Australia had 3 and 5 apiece, respectively. Additionally, the height of the world’s tallest timber building, now officially the soon-to-be-completed 25-story Ascent tower in Milwaukee, has tripled in jus...

More than half of UK architects have not worked on net-zero projects in the past year

2022-04-04T13:42:00-04:00

A surprising number of new British construction projects are not in line with the country’s supposedly stringent sustainability mandates, according to a new industry poll published by the product information platform NBS.

The survey revealed that just 14% of respondents worked on projects that always had pre-set sustainability goals, although a total of 69% said they had worked on projects with such guidelines at least “some of the time.” Only 4% reported working on net-zero projects exclusively.

A total of 52% of those surveyed said the main culprit was a lack of client demand. Costs and an overall dearth of government regulation were also blamed. Paradoxically, 97% of respondents said sustainability was important to them personally.

Image from the 2022 Sustainable Futures Survey, courtesy NBS.

Christian Dimbleby, chair of the Climate Action Team for a group called Architype, told AJ he found the results to be a “depressing reading,” that “illustrates quite powerfully that the indu...

Deconstruction of building made of alternative concrete resulted in just two buckets of waste

2022-03-30T17:07:00-04:00

Two buckets. That’s all that was left at the end of the day when Nexii, a concrete alternative start-up, tore down one of its first demonstration projects. A 700-square-foot showroom and model home displaying Nexii’s building technology was constructed in 2019 near Vancouver to prove the buildability of the new material, which has far lower emissions than conventional concrete.

Combining their sturdy panel-based construction system with their concrete alternative, Nexiite, which produces about 35% lower carbon emissions than conventional concrete, Nexii was able to deconstruct the showroom in six days, saving almost every part of the building for future reconstruction. In contrast to conventional concrete, Nexiite doesn’t use Portland cement, which is a major source of emissions worldwide. The company’s building panels are designed to be continuously reused, with assembly simply requiring craning the pieces onto a foundation and bolting them together.

The waste produced from the showroom’s disassembly consisted only of the sealant used to connect the panels, small sections of weatherproofing, “a couple of screws,” and some waste generated by the people on-site, such as lunch waste. The building will be reassembled next...

Booming Ukrainian construction industry nears complete shutdown due to Russian invasion

2022-03-09T18:42:00-05:00

The once-thriving construction industry in Ukraine has ground to a near halt as the nation shifts into battling an invasion by Russia. Before the incursion, which began Feb. 24, construction sites across the country were booming in many different sectors, according to Morgan Williams, president of the 200-member U.S.-Ukraine Business Council in Washington, D.C.

Russia’s invasion has stymied Ukraine’s construction industry, which was surging under the country’s “Big Construction” program. The initiative was spearheaded by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and aimed to rebuild and renovate infrastructure across the country. Construction Dive obtained an account by an employee at Ukrainian construction company CKS Frame Construction, who stated that the company remains open despite stopping commercial production due to the conflict.

Another company, Zeppelin Ukraine, a dealer of Caterpillar, along with agricultural and mining equipment, also reportedly suspended business, with expectations on a return to work unclear. The company believes the cost of materials will climb as the war continues, impacting raw materials in all industries.

From lighting design to custom millwork, a background in architecture creates room for alternative job opportunities

2022-02-08T16:22:00-05:00

Following January's look at architecture's relationship with furniture and product design, we're taking another look at alternative career paths an architecture education can provide. This week, we highlight a selection of exciting job opportunities listed on Archinect Jobs involving wood floor/millwork and architectural lighting at MADERA and L'Observatoire International.

The new Editions de Parfums boutique in Paris. Image credits: Roland Halbe and Maxime Hibon/Courtesy of L'Observatoire International.

When designing any building or structure, several factors come into play, however, an often-overlooked element when designing a space is the power of lighting. While we aren't negating the importance and value of natural lighting, indoor lighting setups play essential factors when illuminating an area and creating an overall mood and tone. For the New York-based L'Observatoire, the firm's passion and expertise started in 1993 with French lighting designer Hervé Descottes.

Since its ...

Francis Kéré and others are attempting to muddy up the rising use of concrete in West Africa

2021-11-22T15:24:00-05:00

Architects, officials, and villagers confirm the trend: People are discarding traditional materials, mostly mud, in favor of concrete, as soon as they can afford it. As living standards increase making concrete more accessible, some of the world’s hottest, poorest landscapes are rapidly morphing from brown to cinder block grey.

Architects like Francis Kéré have been attempting to buck the trend of using concrete by experimenting with upgraded versions of terrestrial materials like mud bricks that simultaneously provide tools for community-building in developing countries like Burkina Faso.

Facade detail of Kéré Architecture's Burkina Institute of Technology. Photo: Jaime Herraiz.

The ancient material is much more heat-adaptable when compared to concrete, which is increasingly valuable in an area whose number of extreme heat days is expected to rapidly increase over the next three decades due to climate change.

“It’s a matter of time, it’s a matter of belief. It’s a matter of political will,” Kéré, told National Geographic. “But there’s a lot of accumulated knowledge now. In 10 years, you’re going to be surprised by our success.”

Research team invents new 'smart' window that diminishes heat without blocking views

2021-11-10T19:46:00-05:00

An international research team led by scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore has invented a new window material that controls heat transmission without blocking views, which could help reduce the energy required to cool and heat buildings.

The new energy-saving material for electrochromic (EC) windows is designed to block infrared radiation, which is the primary component of sunlight that emits heat. According to NTU Singapore’s announcement, the material could block up to 70 percent of infrared radiation, while allowing up to 90 percent of visible light to pass through. In addition, the researchers claim that it is about 30 percent more effective in regulating heat than commercially available electrochromic windows and is cheaper to make due to its durability. The material is intended to be coated onto glass window panels with users being able to switch on and off the infrared radiation transmission through the window.

Current electrochromic windows are...

Ohio State researchers discover new method for designing soundproof spaces

2021-08-12T13:07:00-04:00

A new study by researchers out of The Ohio State University investigates a different kind of design for absorbing vibrations that could better soundproof materials.

Ryan Harne, senior author of the paper and former associate professor of mechanical engineering at Ohio State, along with former Ohio State doctoral student Sih-Ling Yeh, tested how well built-in resonators handled vibrations under a variety of scenarios. Resonators are devices that use spring-like oscillation to control and change vibrations. Some absorb and neutralize them, and others amplify and direct them to specific places. They’re present in some vehicles, which use them to limit the sound emitted from a car’s muffler. Bridges and buildings also utilize them to limit noise and movement.

Contrary to previous studies relating to resonators, which focused on adding one to an existing structure or vehicle part, Harne and Yeh considered embedding resonators directly into a material, rather than adding it later.

Ryan ...

The livMatS Pavilion at the University of Freiburg displays the strength of a more sustainable material

2021-07-20T08:00:00-04:00

A new “bioinspired” pavilion is opening in Germany thanks to some help from robotic hands.

The livMatS Pavilion has been successfully installed in the botanical garden on the campus of the University of Freiburg thanks to a cross-university team of engineers, architects, and biologists. The building is the first of its kind using a load-bearing structure that is entirely made of robotically-wound flax fiber.

Images courtesy ICD/ITKE/intCDC and the University of Stuttgart

Participants from both the University of Freiburg and the University of Stuttgart combined on the demonstration piece that showcases the material’s ductile capabilities in a spindly geometric form that simultaneously evokes both latticework and natural structures like cactus tissue and spiderwebs.

Images courtesy ICD/ITKE/intCDC and the University of Stuttgart

The pavilion’s prefabricated flax fiber truss was wrapped in a waterproof skin and wound together using a robotic process designed by the University of Stuttg...

Wood can do many things—structurally, thermally, hydroscopically

2021-03-08T18:21:00-05:00

One thing we're looking at is this synchronization of thermal mass and buoyancy ventilation so buildings can work like termite mounds. We've developed these scaling rules where you choose your material and you define your free-running ventilation rate so you can design for that heat wave.

Architectural historian C. Kaye Rawlings and science journalist Dan

Samorodnitsky chatted with Salmaan Craig about specific ways
architecture can adapt to the realities of catastrophic climate
change.

For more watch him speak on;

Biogenic Buildings at the Institute of Technology in Architecture, ETH Zurich or Building Form and Energy Circulation at Waterloo Architecture.

Kenyan start-up founder uses plastic to make bricks stronger than concrete

2021-02-09T12:24:00-05:00

Materials engineer Nzambi Matee heads a recent start-up called Gjenge Makers, which creates low-cost lightweight building materials from recycled plastic and sand. Beginning with pavers, the company has introduced a product that is stronger and more flexible than concrete, heightening its durability and diminishing its maintenance costs.

A Young Champion of the Earth 2020 Africa winner, Matee wants a future where the perpetual growth of plastic waste in Africa can be utilized to enrich society.

Material Bank pushes the future of material discovery and sampling

2020-06-16T12:30:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Material Bank

Material Bank is the world’s largest material marketplace, providing the fastest and most sustainable way to search and sample materials. It simplifies the complex process of material search and sampling by enabling architecture and design professionals to search hundreds of thousands of materials such as paint, flooring, and textiles across hundreds of brands on a single site.

Streamlining the material sampling process, Material Bank focuses on the client and their needs through an expedited search and sampling system.

Image courtesy of Material Bank

Architecture and design firms spend countless hours searching for the right textiles, flooring samples, paint options, and more. Through Material Bank's propriety database, the need for fumbling through large, clunky catalogues will cease to exist thanks to the company's powerful database and ultra-fast logistics hub. Having samples ready for next day presentations can make or break signing ...

A start-up to replace your office materials library

2020-05-05T12:09:00-04:00

Material Bank is a New York City-based start-up seeking to upend the building industry's relationship to building materials sampling and ordering.

The company is founded by Adam I. Sandow, an entrepreneur who leads the SANDOW company, a collection of interconnected media and designer- and consumer-oriented businesses that include the magazines Interior Design and Luxe Interiors + Design as well as the annual NYC X DESIGN showcase.

Material Bank bills itself as "the world's largest material marketplace of its kind" by offering free, customizable, and on-demand material library services for architects and designers to use.

Anyone who has worked in a design office knows that nearly every practice has a motley collection of material sample books, paint swatches, and other catalogs scattered around the office that designers use to select finishes for their work. In larger offices and universities, these collections might have dedicated spaces and staff on hand to coordinate the materi...

Designer Sabine Marcelis channels Mies van der Rohe's use of glass as inspiration for her exhibition in Barcelona

2020-01-06T12:30:00-05:00

Rotterdam-based designer Sabine Marcelis creates a visually mesmerizing exhibition playing with glass and its material capabilities in No Fear of Glass. Currently exhibited at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, Sabine sought to create pieces in response to a request made to Mies during the construction of his 1929 German Pavilion.

According to a press statement from the exhibition, Mies was asked to "not use too much glass." For this special exhibition, Marcelis uses the material in ways that push its materiality and structural composition. Marcelis creates two large, curved, chaise, glass lounge pieces with tints of vibrantly fading color. A single glass sheet is inserted into solid travertine pieces that support the glass in place. In addition to the lounge pieces, the pavilion is filled with chrome columns, a mirrored-glass column, and a curved glass fountain loc...

Rice University researchers prototype diamond-strength building materials from 3-D printed polymer structures

2019-11-26T16:20:00-05:00

How can we make stronger building materials? An experiment conducted by Rice University's Brown School of Engineering explores this limit by manipulating materials like plastic, metal, and concrete to match the strength of diamonds.

Through a series of tests, the team at Rice, led by graduate student Seyed Mohammad Sajadi, discovered that 3D-printed polymers based on tubulane structures could be mimicked and scaled to produce an incredibly durable structure that can both withstand intense compression forces and deflect projectiles. This breakthrough opens new doors for creating impact-resistant materials that perhaps were not possible to create previously.

"Sajadi and his colleagues built computer simulations of various tubulane blocks, printed the designs as macroscale polymers, and subjected them to crushing forces and speeding bullets. The best proved 10 times better at stopping a bullet than a solid ...

Remembering Francois Perrin, beloved architect, father, and friend

2019-04-05T17:36:00-04:00

On April 1st, the architecture community lost the acclaimed architect, curator, and friend Francois Perrin. Having been diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer in January, 2019, the beloved designer, surfer, and father passed peacefully in his sleep, surrounded by friends and loved ones in his private home in Los Angeles.

Francois Perrin. Image courtesy of Perrin's GoFundMe page

Perrin's long list of accolades pair with his passion for inventive design approaches, love of surfing, and his kind-hearted nature. A dear friend to many, the Paris-born architect spent his time working in Southern California and France. The founder of Air Architecture, Perrin studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts. With his father being a professor of sculpture, Perrin's interests in art and curation only added to the depth and vision of his multidisciplinary approach to architecture.

PAS House / Skateboard House by Francois Perrin and Gil Le Bon Delapointe

Hollywood Hills House by Francois Pe...

Researchers propose concrete mixed with plastic for India's rapid construction

2018-09-19T16:28:00-04:00

Researchers say India could alleviate its growing shortage of sand, which is needed for concrete, by partially replacing it with waste plastic. Research carried out by the University of Bath in the UK, and India’s Goa Engineering College, has found that concrete made with an admixture of ground-up plastic bottles is almost as strong as traditional concrete mixtures.

With India's rapid urbanization, concrete construction has dramatically increased causing a shortage in the country's sand used to make the building material. Mixing in plastic bottles focuses on solving both the issue of a sand shortage and the accumulation plastic waste on the streets. While the plastic added material is not as strong as concrete, it could still be used for lower tech functions such as paving slabs.

Morphosis announces opening of new flagship location for Kolon Group in Seoul

2018-08-28T16:12:00-04:00

Morphosis recently announced the opening of a new flagship research and design facility for The Kolon Group, a leading manufacturing company based in South Korea. The 820,000-square-foot facility is located in Magok, an emerging tech hub in Seoul.

Kolon Group facility by Morphosis, located in Seoul. Image: Jasmine Park, courtesy of Morphosis.

The design for the new facility features flexible laboratory facilities, administrative offices, and active social spaces to encourage interaction and exchange across the company departments.

Kolon Group facility by Morphosis, located in Seoul. Image: Jasmine Park, courtesy of Morphosis.

The façade consists of interconnected sunshades made from fiber reinforced polymer using one of The Kolon Group's own high-tech fabrics, Aramid, to increase the material’...

Marble ~ ish: Harry der Boghosian Fellowship 2017 installation

2017-08-15T16:40:00-04:00

Marble~ish was developed as part of the research from the 2016/17 Harry der Boghosian Fellowship at Syracuse School of Architecture. Conducted by Maya Alam in collaboration with her students “~ISH: Stages Before the Real” is an installation exploring questions concerning the in-between: site specificity/site-less, object/landscape, analog/digital, distinctive/similar and flat/flat-less.

The exhibition represents the culmination of a yearlong design research effort conducted at the School of Architecture. The investigation as a whole deals with 'speculations on social dreaming and experimental preservation in consideration of new media and its effects on our perception'.

Amidst the chaos of the contemporary world, many architects seek the certainty of absolutes. Yet, everything about the contemporary world tells us that it is not governed by certitude. Instead, ours is a world where everything exists in a radical state of the “in-between,” where nothing, not even architecture, has a...

ODA's new condo building 15 Renwick Street "combats cold modernism"

2017-06-15T13:41:00-04:00

The dark, quasi-Victorian corridors of ODA's 31-unit apartment building on New York City's Renwick Street are a purposeful nod toward British-born James Renwick, 19th century scientist and engineer, after which the street is named. The contrast between the portrait-clad hallways and the light, modern rooms they adjoin is striking; the two spaces almost seem to be from two entirely different buildings.

However, as an alliterative press release notes, ODA is purposefully trying to "combat the cold modernism of so much contemporary construction" and the architects appear to succeed, primarily because the interiors don't shy away from texture. While the clean lines and unabashed abstract geometry of the modern canon are prominent here, so is an emphasis on not obscuring or disguising the composition of the materials.

The wood grain, both on the kitchen cabinets and the polished floors, is prominent. Instead of a soulless cradle of anonymous perfection, the dwelling spaces are rooted firm...

Archinect LAX >< DET Mini Sessions; A Conversation with Sean Ahlquist, Detroit-Based Architect, Educator and Researcher

2017-06-01T16:46:00-04:00

This week we are releasing a series of conversations, or "Mini-Sessions", with architects and designers in LA and Detroit, in partnership with the Los Angeles Design Festival. The festival will be taking place in Downtown LA from June 8 to 11th. Today we're sharing my conversation with Sean Ahlquist, Assistant Professor of Architecture at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan. I talk with him about architectural education and his work merging new technologies with innovative applications of architecture and material research in his Lab for Material Architectures.

If you’re able to attend the LA Design Festival, make sure to check out the live panel, titled LAX >< DET, discussing the connection between LA and Detroit, a collaboration with the Detroit Design Festival and the L.A. Forum for Architecture and Design. The event will be taking place on June 10th, from 2-4pm at ROW DTLA 777 Alameda Street, and will include Edwin Chan, Chris Den...

Exchanging cinderblock for 'shrooms with "fungi bricks"

2017-05-30T12:48:00-04:00

To most people, mushrooms are a food source. To mycologist (mushroom scientist) Philip Ross, fungi are much, much more. In fact, Ross is most passionate about mushrooms’ ability to be used for building materials and it is this is what he primarily focuses his attention on. Recently, the mycologists figured out how to make bricks from growing fungi that are super-strong and water-, mold- and fire resistant.

Referred to as "mycotecture," the mushroom bricks originally were embraced by the art world, but increasingly are being considered for other structural uses.

Stronger and cooler-looking than concrete, the above fungi-brick structure is held together using chopsticks.