ABSTRACT
The construction industry heavily relies on non-renewable materials with linear life cycles, which contribute to the growing issue of waste generation. As the global demand for construction continues to increase, there is an urgent need for renewable, circular materials to mitigate these issues. One such material is mycelium-bound composites (MBCs), which combine mycelium with lignocellulosic substrates to create compostable materials with a circular life cycle.
The research presented in this paper evaluates the suitability of modular, reusable interior partitions made exclusively from mycelium-based materials. Focusing on acoustic performance and ease of deconstruction, stackable modules were designed which combine dense MBCs with infill MBC. Dense MBC refers to MBCs which have been post-processed into board-like materials through different types of pressing, while infill MBC has not been post-processed. Three key aspects were investigated: the biofabrication method of the module, the strength of the attachment between the materials, and the thermal and acoustic performance of the infill MBC.
To develop a reliable biofabrication strategy, pull-apart tests on small attachment samples assessed the connection between infill MBC and different dense materials. These tests qualitatively evaluated the strength of the binding between the infill and dense material to later inform the 1:1 partition module design.
Thermal and acoustic tests were performed on cylindrical samples of infill MBC. Preliminary results confirm that the infill material can be implemented as an acoustic or thermal material. The partition module design was then fabricated at a 1:1 scale using both cold-pressed MBC and heat-pressed MBC as the dense material. The findings reveal that a number of challenges and complications in the biofabrication process remain. Pre-treatment of the dense pieces as well as mould design were identified as influential factors in the biofabrication process.
Overall the results show potential for mixed-density mycelium material solutions for short- to medium-term interior applications, thereby reducing the waste from refreshing interior spaces and the raw material demands associated with such redesigns. Contamination prevention remains a key challenge; however, the results show the binding strength between dense and infill materials to be sufficient that a mixed-density mycelium module is feasible.
