After my orientation and accumulation at Mediamatic, it was time for production. Peter Oei had an agreement with the Floriade to produce a new type of mycelium lampshade for the Growing Pavilion.
We wanted to make better use of the properties of mycelium. The property that was very interesting to us and seemed most fun to work with, is the fact that mycelium can grow together, even after you have grown it in a certain shape or mould. We also used horticultural waste as a substrate for the mycelium.
So we grew three different basic lampshades in a week, took them out of the moulds and pressed them together on the sides. This way the separate lampshades would grow together into one bigger lampshade without the need of any glue, nails, screws or other attachments. The only problem that we faced was how to hang the lamp up.
After some thinking, I got inspired by a certain lamp that I came across. Using the round structure in the middle of the lampshades, I could distribute the weight equally. By putting a fitting and a big screw through the middle of each lamp we could easily hang them up.