MY-CO-X Collective (Vera Meyer, Dimitra Almpani-Lekka, Angely Angulo Meza, Kustrim Cerimi, Carsten Pohl, Bertram Schmidt, Christian Schmidts, Bastian Schubert, Lisa Stelzer, Birke Weber, Sven Pfeiffer)

est. 2020 in Berlin

 

With MY-CO SPACE, the interdisciplinary collective MY-CO-X—comprised of artists, architects, and fungal biotechnologists—turns a utopia into reality: it is an accessible, inhabitable sculpture created in cooperation with nonhuman agents, specifically with mushrooms (Latin: Mycota). The collective was founded in 2020 by the biotechnologist and artist Prof. Dr. Vera Meyer and architect Prof. Dr. Sven Pfeiffer and focuses on the enormous potential that mushrooms and fungal materials hold for our future. They are already being used to produce, among other things, numerous medications. Their application as a sustainable alternative also seems to be promising for other industrial sectors, for example, as packaging, construction material, or for use in the textile industry.

The close relationship between science and vision in this progressive undertaking can be seen in MY-CO SPACE’s biomorphic architecture: The form can be placed in the tradition of designs by Russian architect Galina Balaschowa, who in addition to other projects was responsible for the interior of the Soyuz spacecraft and the Mir space station. In this project, MY-CO-X transfers the architectural challenges of a manned space expedition to the future of humankind on Earth: How will humans live and what will habitation look like with limited resources and independent of fossil fuels? How can anthropocentrism be overcome and the balance between man and nature be restored? Will humankind become increasingly involved in the most successful evolutionary strategy—symbiosis with other lifeforms?

Designed for two occupants, MY-CO SPACE becomes a place to experience this manner of potential interrelation between human and fungi. The minimalistic facilities are composed primarily of mushrooms and meet the essential needs of humans: The honeycomb-shaped wall elements have been filled with tinder fungus (Fomes fomentarius) originating from Berlin/Brandenburg. Inside, visitors also sit and sleep on mushrooms. A microscope and telescope are even available to observe micro- and macrocosms and to reflect on what these innovations could mean on a small and large scale.

Lydia Korndörfer

 

kindly supported by:

FG Entwerfen und Tragwerkslehre, Universitätder Künste. Berlin, Prof. Dr. Christoph Gengnagel, WM Diego Apellaniz (structural calculation) Fachbereich Holzingenieurwesen, Hochschule für nachhaltige Entwicklung Eberswalde, Prof. Dr. Klaus Dreiner, WM Tim Peters, Tassilo Goldmann, (wood construction) UdK Berlin, Program for city renewal Berlin University Alliance