New York City firm Studio Link-Arc has created an installation in Shenzhen formed from 400 hanging mushroom bricks. Titled 'Mushroom Brick Pyramids,' the project was created for the 2022 Shenzhen Biennale, which adopted the theme ‘More than Human Adventure.’

Seeking to respond to the theme with a project that explored “the intersection between living organisms and architecture,” the studio chose mycelia as their working material due to its ability to survive and adapt to varying environments. As a result, the installation aimed to reflect, visualize, and learn from the organisms in order to inform future architectural applications of the material.

The resulting scheme was set within a converted old brewery, which included a gallery space between the continuous concrete frames. Beneath the 400 hanging mushroom bricks, a pool was created to provide a moist microclimate, while the indoor-outdoor nature of the space allowed for additional moisture to be absorbed by the bricks.

“Using the language of construction, this installation explores relationships between architecture and an ecosystem that is mostly unknown,” the studio explains. “The aim is to dissolve boundaries and create a symbiosis, or a collaboration between both realms. The inverted-pyramid shape flips traditional views on its head, illustrating the existence of second natures, double functionality, duplicate purposes, man-made and nature, present and future, and finally growth and decay. A symbol that is also an anti-symbol.”

Rather than being manufactured, the bricks grew and solidified over time with the help of agricultural straw, bagasse, and wheat bran as substrate. The resulting material provides enough structural strength and plasticity that, under the appropriate temperature and humidity, can be grown into any shape. Following the dismantling of the material, the bricks will degrade in soil over several months.

News of the installation comes months after Penn State announced its undertaking of a study into how fungal biomaterials can help reduce construction waste. Last year, meanwhile, a Colorado-based developer announced its intention to use algae to create masonry blocks with support from SOM, Autodesk, and Microsoft.