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  • Image: Mediamatic Biotoop Nehis Osagie

    Tiny tower

  • Research
  • Fungus
  • Transformation
  • Design
  • Form

  • Growing lamps

    And then there was... mycelium

    In this post I will share how I made my first products from mycelium in the Mediamatic Clean Lab. 
  • Mediamatic Biotoop Dominik Einfalt

    Defining the Shape

    Square and Round

    Building living architecture pairs with failure and errors, but we get more experienced with each tower. Over time we learned to better understand how the mycelium behaves and how to respond to that.
  • Pigeon Tower Mediamatic Biotoop Arne Hendriks, Nehis Osagie, Andy Cartier

    Jute

    June '20 – Pigeon Tower 02

    We put the remains of the collapsed tower from the first experiment in a long burlap tube. Burlap is a biodegradable textile, and provides structure and nourishment for the mycelium. We rolled up the...
  • Pigeon Tower Mediamatic Biotoop Nehis Osagie, Arne Hendriks

    Babel

    June '20 – Pigeon Tower 01

    The first tower of mycelial waste. Living material. We mainly wanted to start. With a lot of enthusiasm but little precision or consultation. The uneven blocks were stacked intuitively. We filled the...
  • Mediamatic Biotoop Dominik Einfalt

    The Power of Eight

    From Octaves to Da Vinci

    After the square and round tower try-out, we tried to build in an Octagonal shape. Finally we had succes! Apart from it being the right shape to keep the bricks together, the number 8 also became an...
  • Pigeon Tower Mediamatic Biotoop Andy Cartier, Arne Hendriks

    Cartier

    Sept '20 – Pigeon Tower 03

    The third tower was build inside the Clean Lab . Two previous attempts to build a sturdy, living tower had failed. Time to take a step back. We did not know whether our principles were correct.

  • Structure

    We are building a Pigeon Tower #4

    Does form follow function or should the function follow the form? Does any of this even matter and should we just think if it works it works? 
  • Mediamatic Biotoop Nehis Osagie, Andy Cartier

    Commence Operation

    We are building a Pigeon Tower #2

    During the first building a mycelium pigeon tower workshop we had a lot of fun and learned a lot. Unfortunately, there is nothing left to show for all the hard work except pictures and videos. Now it...
  • Mediamatic Biotoop Dominik Einfalt

    Guards and Guides

    Parasitic fungi and their function

    Fungi can more or less be divided into three main clusters. The second big group is parasitic fungi. Of course, there are parasitic species for every organism, but they are mainly related to insects.
  • Mediamatic Biotoop Dominik Einfalt

    Five kingdoms and Three terms

    The fungi, the mycelium and the mushroom

    First, let's tackle the fungi. Fungi are one of the species of the five kingdoms and it is the closest one to Animalia, ergo animals, including humans. Animals even evolved out of the fungi. That's...
  • Mediamatic Biotoop Mily Bogaarts 3 Mar 2021

    From Packaging to Beaver Skin

    How to build a mycelium pigeon tower roof #1

    The pigeon and the mycelium are in joint agreement. Pigeons don’t nest on soggy surfaces and mycelium prefers high humidity, but don’t like the wet. It is critical: The tower needs a roof. But what...
  • Pigeon Tower Mediamatic Biotoop Dominik Einfalt, Arne Hendriks

    Yellow

    Feb '21 – Pigeon Tower 06

    The construction of this tower is mainly focused on speed and efficiency. It is a simple square design so we did not have to trim the blocks. To press them we organized a ‘Gentle Disco’. We gently...

  • Mycelium Pigeon Towers

    Collection of Design Research Questions

    Is mycelium waste from the oyster mushroom industry an effective material to build with? Can we build structures to house Amsterdams feral pigeons? Do pigeons accept a mycelium structure as a place...
  • Mediamatic Biotoop

    Composing Fragrance

    with Frank Bloem

    In this workshop, artist, and perfumer Frank Bloem will introduce you to the world of perfume making. You will learn the basics of scent composing and at the end of the workshop, you will have...
  • Mediamatic Biotoop Dominik Einfalt

    Building-Blocks

    Different ways to build an octagon

    What is the most efficient way to come close to a circle, but still not use too many mycelium blocks? After some testing we found out an octagonal shape for the tower would fit our purpose best.  
  • Mediamatic Biotoop

    Mending with Kintsugi

    with Mariko Hori

    How can you mend something broken into something even more beautiful? Kintsugi is a centuries old craftsmen's reparation technique where the cracks of a broken ceramic vessel are filled with Urushi
  • Mediamatic Biotoop Andy Cartier

    Hybrid Material

    Mycelium Experiments

    Explore the potential of living material through a series of diverse experiments.
  • Private Workshop Mediamatic Biotoop

    Freestyle Kintsugi

    with Mariko Hori

    Humans are not able to control everything. In this workshop, the participants will experience the philosophy of kintsugi, which embraces the flawed or imperfect. They will practice to accept the way...
  • Pigeon Tower Mediamatic Biotoop Dominik Einfalt, Arne Hendriks

    Gentle

    Oct '20 – Pigeon Tower 04

    The blocks of mycelium from mushroom grower John Verbruggen that we used to build are wide and heavy, and so they give us more security when stacking than in previous towers. Because we wanted to...
  • workshop: Mediamatic Biotoop

    Freestyle Kintsugi

    21
    Mar 2026
    - with Mariko Hori

    Humans are not able to control everything. In this workshop, the participants will experience the philosophy of kintsugi, which embraces the flawed or imperfect. They will practice to accept the way...
  • Mediamatic Biotoop

    Sculpting Textiles

    with Margherita Soldati

    How can you use unconventional materials and techniques to manipulate textile in shapes, textures and patterns? During the workshop, artist Margherita Soldati will introduce you to manipulating...
  • Clean Lab

    Credits

    Thank you!

    We would like to thank the following people, organizations, sponsors, and participants.
  • Mediamatic Biotoop Dominik Einfalt

    Nature Network

    Mycorrhizal fungi and their function

    As I wrote, fungi can more or less be divided into three main clusters. The third big group is mycorrhizal fungi. Which to me is the most inspiring group. It is the fungi that is connected to plants.
  • Mediamatic Biotoop Dominik Einfalt

    Nature's janitors and Remediation

    Saprophytic fungi and their function

    Fungi can more or less be divided into three main clusters. There are also some in-between types of fungi, but let's, for now, talk about these three. The first group is saprophytic fungi. They are...

created Nehis Osagie modified Anne Lakeman

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