‘The Myco Bodhi’ by Vivee Barengo
MA Information Experience Design (2019-21)
Royal College of Art, London
Key supervisors: Gian Luca Amadei
The Myco Bodhi started in December 2020 as an exploration of mycelium consciousness and how this might be applied to future sustainable architecture projects. The core idea of the subsequent speculations was that we could eventually create a world where plants, or fungi, in this case, would not only coexist with our most advanced technologies but thrive on each other in a self-sustaining ecosystem.
Inspired by the Flora Robotica project (EU-Horizon 2020 Future and Emerging Technologies Proactive Action), this project is as much of a speculative design as it is a research one. The aim was to propose a possible future scenario, contributing to the existing creative research, and to spike further inputs/outputs from others working towards a similar goal. Thus promoting a conversation around our allocation of resources as a society. Where shall we focus on while building more circular economies that can survive through time in harmony with the habitats surrounding them? But mostly, what can we learn from the mycelium network as a living organism?
Fungi’s resilience and cooperation throughout the planet are astonishing traits that certainly any species could benefit from adopting. The mycelium network is therefore the key to this design as it would allow us to utilise its consciousness to understand in real-time the living conditions of our surroundings. In theory, the mycelium and the robots would act as one supervising agent: gathering the data from the soil and air and, through an electrical circuit, sharing it with humans on monitors in a clear display.
The final structure proposed is a futuristic greenhouse made of tubular hexagons, each containing mycelium and wires to allow for the data transfer. The modular aspect of the design assures its circularity: once the mycelium in a tube dies it can easily be emptied in the garden as fertiliser and refilled with new substrate. Thus allowing for multiple applications of the same structure in different case scenarios and scales, from a large outdoor garden to a panelled wall in someone’s home.
Vivee Barengo / MA IED / Royal College of Art, London, 2019-21
Vivee Barengo is an Italian London based interdisciplinary creative specialised in Experience Design and Art Direction. Her work focuses on speculative designs that investigate alternative futures while promoting critical reflection on the current state of things.
Vivee’s diverse background allows her to approach each project from multiple perspectives. After completing with honours a BA in Fashion Styling and Art Direction, while also obtaining diplomas in Fashion Design and Art History, in 2019 she started a new creative journey at RCA in the Graduate Diploma programme. Here, she started a new journey as a designer developing original ways to share ideas and research through interactive installations. Such experience led her to IED and to the Experimental Design pathway where, for the last year and a half, she has been growing as a creative, cultivating her passion for research-based projects and innovative ways of communication.
Currently, Vivee is developing cutting-edge sustainable methods of production to build future architectural models using mycelium and robotics in self-sustaining ecosystems.
mycoarchitecture, mycelium, speculative design, sustainability, modular architecture, circular design
