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BioKnit: development of mycelium paste for use with permanent textile formwork

Summary

Researchers developed a new type of injectable mycelium paste combined with knitted fabric formwork to create lightweight, sustainable building materials. The BioKnit prototype demonstrates that this approach can produce large, complex structures like an arched dome using fungal material instead of traditional construction materials. The textile framework dramatically strengthens the mycelium composite while keeping the material environmentally friendly and relatively easy to produce.

Background

Mycelium composites offer sustainable alternatives to traditional building materials with low environmental impact and excellent thermal and acoustic properties. However, current biofabrication methods are limited to rigid molds producing bricks and blocks, restricting the potential for complex shapes and lightweight construction applications.

Objective

To develop an injectable mycelium paste (mycocrete) and injection application system for use with permanent knitted textile formwork to improve mechanical properties and enable fabrication of complex architectural structures at large scale.

Results

Mycocrete paste with textile formwork (sample type 2) showed dramatic improvements in mechanical properties compared to conventional sawdust-based composites, with flexural modulus increasing 16-fold and flexural strength increasing 4-fold. Textile formwork prevented brittle failure and provided post-failure load-carrying capacity. The BioKnit prototype demonstrated successful large-scale application with an 1.8 m high freestanding arched dome.

Conclusion

Permanent knitted textile formwork combined with mycocrete paste significantly improves mycelium composite performance and enables fabrication of complex, self-supporting structures for construction applications with lower environmental impact than traditional materials.
  • Published in:Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology,
  • Study Type:Experimental Research,
  • Source: PMID: 37520299, DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1229693
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