The design studio bioMATTERS from New York and London produces vessels and bowls for interior design by mixing biomaterials such as mycelium and clay with household and industrial waste and 3D printing the objects. The latest collection demonstrates the potential of 3D printing for robust, recycled products made from natural raw materials and waste.
With the “MYCO-CLAY” series, bioMATTERS aims to offer fully biodegradable products. To achieve this, it combines innovative bio-fabrication processes in which the underground fungus Mycelium is mixed with the natural clay terracotta. The company, led by Nancy Diniz and Frank Melendez, relies on computer-aided generative design and 3D printing. This gives the vessels and bowls a contemporary digital aesthetic, inspired by biomechanical growth processes in nature. The vessels were given different morphologies using growth algorithms. The bowls were based on traditional weaving techniques.
After printing, the objects continued to grow for one to two weeks as the mycelium covered them and formed a kind of bio-surface. Waste enriched the breeding ground for growth. The clay contributes the color and texture. The mycelium, on the other hand, initially overgrows the clay and the waste materials like a cobweb, but over time it thickens to form a living coating.
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