UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A research team led by Benay Gürsoy, assistant professor of architecture and director of the Form and Matter (ForMat) Lab in the Stuckeman Center for Design Computing, was awarded the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Upjohn Research Initiative grant to advance the study of biodegradable building composites made from mycelium, which comes from the root of fungi.
Gürsoy and Ali Ghazvinian, an architecture doctoral candidate whom Gürsoy advises, earned the $25,000 award for their project proposal, “From Waste to Biodegradable Structures with Local Fungi Species.”
The funds from AIA will be matched by the Stuckeman School’s Department of Architecture, giving Gürsoy a total of $50,000 to further research on mycelium-based composites, a biodegradable material that can be used for architectural structures.
“We proposed to build two large-scale prototypes, one called ‘MycoCreateII’ and the other is ‘MycoPrint,’” Gürsoy explained. “We’re exploring how we can 3D print mycelium-based composites for structural use. We want to build a proof-of concept-structure by [3D] printing components of the structure.”
In addition to constructing the prototypes, the grant will go towards other expenses, such as lab tests, materials and supporting architecture students who are working on the project.