Fungi Forming: Make Custom Molds for Mycelium

Saturday, May 18, 2 - 5pm EST

Saturday, May 19, 2 - 5pm EST

Sustainable organic materials are becoming more prevalent in today’s art and design world, whether it’s groups tweaking classic materials in new ways, like making wood transparent, or diving into new materials in a commercial setting, such as Adidas mycelium show the Stan Smith Mylo. Fungi in particular has been a hot contender in the past decade, emerging in fashion, packaging and architectural markets.

In this workshop, we’ll explore mycelium, the root systems of mushrooms, as a material for sculpting and design applications. Participants will:

• Be taught and given hands-on experience in creating vacuum formed molds.
• Learn the basics to 3D modeling and 3D printing in a lab space.
• The process of growing mycelium into a form.
• General skills in mold-making techniques, with a focus on “casting”/growing living biological materials.
• Create a mycelium piece!
• Discuss and explore possible future bio-projects they have in mind.

In our first session, we will be starting off with an intro to biomaterials and 3D printing. We’ll be using TinkerCAD as our 3D software, but if you are familiar with others (such as Fusion 360, Rhino 3D, or Blender) feel free to work in those! Please bring a computer and mouse with you!

In our second session, we will dive deeper into mycelium, lab protocols, and vacuum forming. We’ll end off with a review and any questions or possible personal project ideas.

COVID-19 Safety Notice:

If you are feeling unwell, suspect that you have been exposed to COVID-19 or test positive, please do not attend and let us know ASAP ([email protected]). If you cancel after our 7-day policy, we cannot refund your ticket, but we can exchange and offer credits toward future classes. If you have signed up for Biohacker Boot Camp, we will automatically transfer your registration to the next month’s dates unless you tell us otherwise.

Niko Arranz is an industrial designer involved in interactive products, spaces, and digital content. From large scale kinetic sculptures to holographic currency, Niko helped bring new technological ideas to life. For the past several years, he's been focused on scientific pursuits and is a lead for the Genspace Biomaterials Studio at Genspace, exploring various biological materials for creative means and building open source tools for remote scientists.

Follow him on Instagram @arranzniko

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Genspace, 132 32nd Street, Brooklyn, United States