Building(s) Tomorrow(s) with Fungi. Mycelium as Material and Method
Head of the Project: Sen. Sct. Dr. Sarah Kolb
Project team: Univ.-Prof. MMag. Jutta Strohmaier (Abteilung für Kunst & Gestaltung, Institut für Kunst & Bildung), Univ.-Prof. Dr. Florian Sametinger (Abteilung Designtheorie & Designforschung, Institut für Raum und Design), Univ.-Prof. DI Martin Kaltenbrunner (JKU Soft Materials Lab, Johannes Kepler Universität Linz), Univ.-Ass. DI Flavia Matei (Abteilung die architektur/BASEhabitat, Institut für Raum & Design), Univ.-Ass. Mag. art. Nikolaus Gansterer (Abteilung Kunst & Gestaltung, Institut für Kunst & Bildung), DI Dr. David Preninger (JKU Soft Materials Lab, Johannes Kepler Universität Linz), BSc Jitka Effenberger (JKU Soft Materials Lab, Johannes Kepler Universität Linz)
Projekt partners: Forum Umweltbildung, Klimabündnis Österreich, Institut für Baubiologie, Österreichische Mykologische Gesellschaft, Mykologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft am Biologiezentrum Linz, sendance electronics, MyPilz, Ars Electronica, Höhere landwirtschaftliche Bundeslehranstalt St. Florian
Type of Fundung: FWF #ConnectingMinds Workshop
Project duration: July 2025 - October 2025
Institute: Department of Art History and Art Theory, Institute of Fine Arts and
Cultural Studies
Fungi are fascinating organisms. As an independent kingdom alongside plants and animals, they play a vital role in our ecosystems: through their highly complex mycelial networks and myriad forms of symbiosis, they enable communication between plants, break down organic and inorganic matter, neutralize pollutants, and create fertile conditions for a wide variety of species. As such, fungi hold great potential for sustainable innovation across many areas of life.
A team of researchers from the arts, materials science, architecture, design, and education places the largely untapped potential of fungi at the center of their work. In collaboration with schools and partners across education, business, and civil society—including the Austrian Mycological Society, Forum Umweltbildung, Climate Alliance Austria, the Austrian Institute of Healthy and Ecological Building, Ars Electronica, and others—BFUNGI explores fungi and their mycelium both as a sustainable material and as a model for new ways of living together. The project invites us to question familiar perspectives and explore new possibilities for engaging with fungi.
Two central questions guide this inquiry: What can we learn from fungi? And how can this knowledge be translated into concrete social, ecological, and technological practices?
Through artistic and educational strategies, the project invites broader audiences to engage with fungal knowledge and its social and ecological significance. In exhibitions, workshops, and excursions, the importance of fungi for our ecosystems is made tangible and accessible to diverse groups. Fungi and mycelial structures serve not only as subjects of learning but also as sources of inspiration for collaborative formats that foster plurality, participation, and creative exchange.
At the same time, the project places particular emphasis on mycelium-based applications in architecture, design, and electronics. By harnessing renewable resources and following the principles of a circular economy, it develops alternatives to conventional building materials that reduce environmental toxins and can be produced and composted locally.
An Open Fungi Lab acts as a central hub connecting research, education, practice, and the broader public. Within an exploratory setting, new materials are developed and educational formats tested that can contribute to social-ecological transformation processes. Drawing on horizontal learning strategies, the project brings together children, young people, and adults as experts in co-creating visions of the future, using the rich sensory qualities of fungi as an entry point for experimental engagement.
Fungi challenge conventional ideas of order, progress, and identity. They reveal alternatives to linear growth, hierarchical knowledge, and exploitative resource use. BFUNGI contributes to unlocking this unique resource—for a society that not only teaches sustainability, but puts it into practice.