3D-printed mushroom roots "could be used to build houses"
Dezeen and MINI Frontiers: designer Eric Klarenbeek, who displayed a chair made out of 3D-printed fungus at Dutch Design Week in October, says the technique could be used to create larger, more complex structures.
![Eric Klarenbeek_Chair_2_Dezeen and Mini Frontiers_644](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Eric-Klarenbeek_Chair_2_Dezeen-and-Mini-Frontiers_644.jpg)
Klarenbeek's Mycelium chair, which takes its name from the extensive threadlike root structure of fungi, combines organic matter with bioplastics to make a light and strong composite material that can be 3D-printed.
![Segment of furniture made from 3D-printed fungus](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Chair_Segment_3_644.jpg)
"We adapted the 3D-printer and invented a way to print straw injected with mycelium. By infusing this mushroom it acts as a kind of glue so that all these straw parts [combine] together and as soon as you dry it you get a kind of cork material, which is all bound together," says Klarenbeek.
![Eric Klarenbeek_Sjoerd_Sijsma_Dezeen and Mini Frontiers_644](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Eric-Klarenbeek_Sjoerd_Sijsma_Dezeen-and-Mini-Frontiers_644.jpg)
The chair's exterior is also 3D-printed, but is made from a bioplastic, against which the mycelium root structure grows. Klarenbeek leaves the fungus to spread throughout the 3D-printed structure, reinforcing it in the process.
![Eric Klarenbeek_Chair_Segment_Dezeen and Mini Frontiers_644](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Eric-Klarenbeek_Chair_Segment_Dezeen-and-Mini-Frontiers_644.jpg)
"Our main purpose was to find a combination between the robot, or the machine, and to have these two work together to create a new material which could be applicable for any product," explains Klarenbeek.
![Eric Klarenbeek interview on furniture made from 3D-printed fungus](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Eric-Klarenbeek_Scale_model_Dezeen-and-Mini-Frontiers_644.jpg)
He claims the material has many possible applications. "It could be a table, or a whole interior, and that's where it becomes interesting for me. It's really strong, solid, lightweight and insulating, so we could build a house!"
![Eric Klarenbeek interview on furniture made from 3D-printed fungus](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Eric-Klarenbeek_Chair-Samples_Dezeen-and-Mini-Frontiers_644.jpg)
The music featured in the movie is a track by Kobi Glas. You can listen to his music on Dezeen Music Project.
Dezeen and MINI Frontiers is a year-long collaboration with MINI exploring how design and technology are coming together to shape the future.