Each of the building types being looked at have a lot to offer, and there is also the possibility of using a combination of some or all of them. There are a few bonuses that mycotecture has: the ease of creating customized structures, the ability to repair itself, the speed it grows, and the simplicity in transporting it.
It’s true. While many people still think of them as plants, in 1969, it was decided that they fit into the classification kingdom of Fungi with molds and yeasts. Part of the confusion stems from the fact that they’re often considered vegetables due to being highly nutrient dense. Unlike plants, however, mushrooms can’t create their own food. They don’t photosynthesize, they absorb their food from their ecosystem by releasing enzymes that break down the particles around them. There has been work toward utilizing this for the benefit of the environment, using them to break down plastics, oils, and maybe more.
We started out growing on straw, but for several reasons Andrew dubbed it “Satan’s substrate”. This is because the Satanic straw makes a huge mess when being processed, so it had to be done outside, making weather a common problem and causing a lot of delays. The chipper didn’t like to function properly a lot of days, slowing down our already slow process. The worst thing; however, about the devilish stuff, was the fact that it made Andrew really sick. We’re not sure if it was mold spores, the dust, a combination of the two, or something else entirely.