Belgian design studio WeWantMore designed an experimental installation in mycelium for last year’s edition of HIX London, an event that brings the international hospitality community together. Referring to last year’s edition’s theme, ‘Great things will grow’, WeWantMore designed a bar that would literally grow towards the event while at the same time being an example of what one of these ‘great things’ might be: Mycelium as a design material.

Innovation
The material used to design this installation is mycelium - a material that actually grows. Mycelium is a web-like structure of fungi that can become a mushroom within the right conditions. When dried, the material can be used as a durable, water, mold and fire resistant building material. Ruud Belmans, Creative Director at WeWantMore and a product designer by education, wanted to explore the boundaries of what is possible with this material. Mycelium has been extensively used before in product design but creating a large-scale project with mycelium is truly a unique occurrence.

Creativity
The design of the mycelium bar draws inspiration from shapes and textures in and on shells. It illustrates the infinite source of inspiration nature can be. The shape of the bar has a sacral feel, almost like a tomb, a metaphor for burying a traditional way of thinking and reflecting on new ideas when designing spaces. The creativity of this design comes from the theme for the event: “Great things will grow”.The entire bar grew towards the event and was displayed on the event as the Mush Room where people could gather around the bar and discuss the sustainability topic and design.

Functionality
The Mush Room was thé room to gather for people and discuss hot topics of the fair. The size and orientation of the big central mycelium bar piece was intended for people to gather around alone or in little groups and interact with each other. The bar itself, its material and design was the main conversation starter thanks to the experimental approach and since it had a perfect fit with the theme of the fair. Many visitors were intrigued by the soft feel of the mycelium skin, giving them a strong connection to the piece and making them stay around longer.

Sustainability
To create a sustainable experience was the main idea behind the Mush Room. Especially in a very unsustainable industry like fairs and exhibitions, where about 80% of built materials are thrown away after the event, this installation aims to change the game. The intention for this mycelium bar was to let it grow on one hand but also to let it decay on the other hand after the fair. The Mush Room is made out of mycelium and is a 100% natural product. Mycelium is biodegradable, since it breaks down into useful nutrients for the soil. It provides a robust, sustainable and renewable alternative to plastic foams. In june 23 it will be reinstalled in the Royal Botanic Garden in Londen where its decay and going back to nature will be observed and analyzed.