Melanin-enriched building materials and decomposing pavilions are among the pieces on show in San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's exhibition of Neri Oxman's work, Nature x Humanity. Curator Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher discusses five key works. More about SFMOMA exhibition explores the architectural provocations of Neri Oxman
Discarded tree forks could replace load-bearing joints in architecture projects using a construction technique developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. More about MIT engineers build load-bearing structures using tree forks instead of steel joints
The Eindhoven University of Technology has led a project building a bridge that is partly made from flax in The Netherlands, aiming to demonstrate the material's potential to replace steel in construction. More about Smart Circular Bridge built with flax completes in The Netherlands
An exhibition in Mexico curated in collaboration with Danish research lab Space10 has showcased five novel uses for local biomaterials. More about Five designers in Mexico exhibit new uses for biomaterials
The latest edition of our Dezeen Agenda newsletter features a hemp alternative to steel rebar, which could avoid the problem of corrosion and cut carbon emissions from construction. More about A hemp alternative to steel rebar features in today's Dezeen Agenda newsletter
The Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD) at the University of Stuttgart has released prototypes for self-forming wood furniture that requires no assembly. More about Flat-pack wood furniture uses "nature-powered shaping" to self assemble
Following news that hemp could be used as a low-cost, low-carbon way of reinforcing concrete, here are 10 promising new construction materials including plastic that's stronger than steel and 3D-printed mushroom columns. More about Ten future materials that could change the way we build
Researchers at the USA's Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have invented an alternative to steel rebar made from hemp, which they claim avoids the problem of corrosion while cutting carbon emissions from construction. More about Hemp rebar could offer low-cost non-corroding alternative to steel
Charlotte Böhning and Mary Lempres of Doppelgänger have developed a bioplastic version of polystyrene foam that is made from the exoskeleton of mealworms and breaks down in soil in a couple of weeks. More about Doppelgänger creates polystyrene substitute from plastic-eating mealworms
Construction technology outfit ICON and architecture studio Lake Flato have completed a 3D-printed, modern ranch-style home in Austin to be displayed during the SXSW festival. More about ICON and Lake Flato build 3D-printed House Zero in Austin
A type of flooring that uses 75 per cent less concrete than the current standard has been invented by researchers at the universities of Bath, Cambridge and Dundee, who say it could make a "major difference" to the construction industry's carbon footprint. More about New concrete vaulted floor suggests path to cutting carbon emissions
Massachusetts Institute of Technology chemical engineers have invented a new type of plastic that is twice as strong as steel and could one day be used as a building material. More about MIT engineers invent plastic that is stronger than steel
Waste bovine bones from the meat industry have been ground into a powder and turned into a collection of light switches and electrical outlets by ÉCAL graduate Souhaïb Ghanmi. More about Souhaïb Ghanmi uses animal bones instead of plastic for minimalist sockets and light switches
Design studio Envisions has worked with engineering company Imat-Uve to make a recycled textile from used clothing usually considered unfit for recycling. More about Previously unrecycleable clothing made into Fibers Unsorted textile
Danish designer Bonnie Hvillum's Natural Material Studio has collaborated with multidisciplinary studio Frama on a collection of biodegradable materials made from algae, clay and foam. More about Natural Material Studio and Frama showcase algae and terracotta fabrics
London practice Blast Studio has developed a method for 3D printing with living mycelium and used it to form a column that could be harvested for mushrooms before serving as a structural building element. More about Blast Studio 3D prints column from mycelium to make "architecture that could feed people"
The UK government has commissioned the trade body representing the concrete industry to determine the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide captured in concrete buildings and infrastructure in a move critics have described as "like the fox guarding the henhouse." More about UK appoints cement trade body the Mineral Products Association to calculate concrete's potential as a carbon sink
Researchers at ETH Zurich have used 3D-printed formwork elements made from recyclable mineral foam to create a pre-cast concrete slab, which they say is lighter and better insulated while using 70 per cent less material. More about ETH Zurich develops formwork from 3D-printed foam to slash concrete use in buildings
London-based fashion brand Auroboros has designed a dress made from salt crystals and recycled plastic that changes colour and shape in real-time, mimicking the growth of a flower. More about Auroboros' "living" Biomimicry dress crystalises and changes shape in real time
Dutch designer Emma van der Leest believes that bio-leather might one day replace animal leather in the fashion industry and is developing a fungal coating to make the material more versatile. More about Emma van der Leest develops fungal coating to make bio-leather more durable