Pecha Kucha: Mycelium

My Pecha Kucha topic was Mycelium, I picked this was because it sounded particularly interesting, I was curious to learn more about how this topic could be linked with landscape architecture as a profession. I was glad I picked this topic in the end because I learned a lot and had fun doing so. However, I did struggle with trying to condense so much information down into the pechakucha format, so my presentation ended up being a bit overwhelming and too quick because I was rushing to fit everything in, next time I need to better condense and pick only top relevant information. 

My script was: 

Today I will be telling you all about the wonders of mycelium
So what is it? 
Mycelium is actually the living body of the fungus; made up of individual hyphae which create growths like vast mats of white strands either in the soil or whichever other substrate the mushroom is growing out of. 
So you could actually think of mycelium as having a similar function in fungi as to the roots of plants, with mushrooms as the fruiting bodies of mycelia. #

Mycelium is for the most part out of sight, so it is easy to overlook its vital importance. 

In Fungi the mycelium hyphae will explore soil and other substrates and then secrete digestive enzymes onto their food source, often dead organic materials and sometimes living organisms, to break down the matter into smaller parts that feed the fungi. 

The mycelium also plays a crucial role in fungal reproduction, when the mycelia of two compatible fungi can fuse together, allowing the cells of each fungus to combine and their DNA to mix to produce spores which will then germinate and produce new fungal networks. 

So how does this mushroom web link to landscape architecture? 

Firstly, mycelium has a very vital role to play in helping our ecosystems through an underground network. 

Through their mycelium, fungi create an important symbiotic relationship with the roots of plants, including trees, creating a cross-kingdom web known as mycorrhizal (meaning 'fungus-root') networks.

Plants communicate and exchange water and nutrients with each other through mycelium which connects the roots of separate plants as well as growing beyond the plants roots, extending the range of the networks nutrient absorption. 

In return for this important job the mycelia receive sugars and fats from the plants photosynthesis, something essential for their life, but something they can’t produce themselves therefore playing an essential role for plant life. 

Mycelia hyphae enzymes that break down dead matter, such as fallen trees, which feed the fungi are also cycled back into the network food chain as nutrients for connected plants. The hyphae also excrete acids which can break down rocks, taking the minerals inside them into an available form for plant nutrition. 

Under certain conditions, plants may also be able to use mycorrhizal networks as a way of sharing messages with their plant neighbours.

For instance, in a greenhouse experiment, tomato plants infected with the disease early blight sent signals to their healthy neighbours, which in response produced defensive enzymes to help protect them from infection.

Mycelium also have an important matchmaking role to play. 

Some plants require very specific fungi to germinate (like orchids) and grow, and as a result, have been heavily affected by land use and climate change that are threatening fungi.

There is also a small group of plants related to heathers (like pinesap) that rely exclusively on mycelial networks for their source of energy, as they are unable to generate their own.

These mycorrhizal networks are beneficial to landscape architects to help boost ecosystems health and biodiversity. Especially when it comes to rewilding as a design approach, which is becoming more and more popular in reaction to climate change. Fungal networks should be considered and implemented with more importance when taking a rewilding stance because of its ecological benefits. 

Mycelium in terms of its mushroom fruits could be useful in creating edible garden designs, since there is a wide variety of healthy edible mushrooms available to easily grow and eat. You could either incorporate mushrooms into larger edible gardens with a variety of edible plants creating an edible plant mycorrhizal network, which could boost the overall ecosystem of the garden. 

On the other hand, there could be dedicated edible mushrooms garden focused on the cultivation of only mushrooms with some other sparse woodland edibles and decorative plants to create a captivating woodland inspired landscape. 

However, mycelium networks aren't able to be manually planted wherever you wish like other plants, you have to create a base growing medium, which will vary depending on the desired mushroom type but typically a fresh nutrient rich wood, and then hope for mycelium growth. Even then it might not grow where you planned and could easily spread where you didnt plan it to. So when creating mushroom gardens it is best to take a rewilding stance and allow the mycelium to grow as it pleases. Additionally, mycelium fruits, the mushrooms, could and should be considered as an aesthetic addition to landscape designs, coming in a wide variety of shapes and colours they provide groundcover visual interest, however be careful to avoid adding any harmful fungi into designs. 

Mushrooms have also been known for their biophilic design inspiration, used throughout all design professions. From mushroom influenced lighting, architecture, sculptures, and interiors, to decomposable mycelium garments. There is a wonderous amount of art revolving around mushrooms, and therefore mycelium. 
Some prime examples of mushroom inspired design are: an Mushroom community eco-campus based in Sapa, Vietnam, Hotel Kardial, a mushroom-look alike spa in bosnia and herzegovina, and a famous example being Singapore's, Garden by the Bay which features large mushroom-shaped steel super trees. 

There is also artwork made from and inspired by mushrooms. This sculpture is titled Burlasite, with the structure's base made from 3D printing technology that will be taken over by mycelia over time. The curators proposed a sustainable and human centric approach towards construction that demonstrates the durable potential between the living world, reusing local materials and fabrication, and architecture. Mycelium has also been used in manufacturing new products and materials. For example the designers who were able to grow furniture. Using a mycelium strand, some hemp fibre substrate and a mould of choice a multitude of designs can be made, including a lampshade, planters and even wine coolers. This mycelium material is renewable, insulating and organic. But one downside would be that you cant paint or dye it. 

Other examples of mycelium products and materials include:

The Circular Garden installation comprises a chain of 60 four-metre-tall arches, inspired by and using the same design form as Antoni Gaudí. They are made from mushroom mycelium, grown organically "just like real mushrooms" over a period of six weeks. The installation will be fully sustainable, which every element being reused or, like the mycelium, returned to the soil after Milan design week is over, in a fully circular fashion.  

The Mushroom Pavilion, in Eindhoven. Every part of this pavilion, shown at Dutch Design Week, is biodegradable – with a timber frame base, floors made from reeds, organic mushroom mycelium exterior which was grown from scratch, and a natural waterproof coating. This structure was designed to show the ultimate potential for biodegradable materials, having the possibility to last several months. 

Mycelium brick has emerged from the race to find the next major sustainable technology, to greatly reduce our ecological footprint as well as improve our environment. The brick itself is formed from organic waste and the mycelium of fungus. When dried  the mycelium can be used as a super strong, water, mould and fire resistant building material that can be grown into specific forms, thus reducing the processing requirements.

Finally, there has been a development of a flame-retardant mushroom-spore dispenser, a mycelium pod, protecting a steel vessel filled with water and sealed with a cork containing billions of dormant oyster mushroom spores, that is automatically triggered during a wildfire so the fungi can detoxify the soil after a blaze. 

In conclusion, there is so mush room for implementing mycelium into landscape architecture.