MycoMuseum at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia
2025
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Material Innovation
The MycoMuseum—an experimental, cross-disciplinary architecture project at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. A collaborative effort by Anomalia (India) and MYCL (Inonesia), the exhibition is part of the Material Bank: Matters Make Sense by Professor Ingrid Maria Paoletti curated under the theme Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective., led by Carlo Ratti.
In the age of the Anthropocene, when architecture must respond not only to form and function but to the planet’s ecological limits, MycoMuseum offers a radical proposal: building with fungi. The installation showcases MycoBlox—25x25x25 cm modular blocks grown from mushroom mycelium and agricultural waste. Each unit embodies a material that is biodegradable, carbon-sequestering, and rich in regenerative potential.
Paricipants Bhakti V Loonawat and Suyash Sawant of Anomalia were selected through the Space for Ideas Open Call, this exhibition marks a powerful presence from the Global South in a Biennale where neither India nor Indonesia has national representation. It underscores a decentralized, community-driven production ethos, questioning dominant models of mass manufacturing and linear material economies.
MycoMuseum unfolds across four research trajectories—exploring mycelium's natural behavior, scientific validation for structural use, form and modularity in design, and material circularity. Designed to decompose and regenerate, the installation uses dowel joinery for easy disassembly and composting, aligned with the Circularity Manifesto. A hybrid assembly of mycelium and concrete units grounds the piece while reflecting on transitions—from industrial rigidity to organic adaptability.
The exhibit reflects a broader narrative: how architecture can move from mitigation to adaptation, from extractive to regenerative practices. It leverages local resources—repurposing 142 kg of agro-waste, preventing 522 kgCO₂-e emissions from crop burning, and sequestering 50.2 kgCO₂-e of carbon. Each block weighs only 1.6 kg and can withstand 1.55 tons of compressive force.
MycoMuseum invites visitors to imagine a future where buildings are grown, not built—functional, modular, and deeply rooted in the cycles of nature. As a platform for architects, biotechnologists, farmers, and policymakers, it proposes a future where innovation is measured not by consumption, but by regeneration.
MycoMuseum embodies a truly global-local vision—one that reconnects architecture to the living intelligence of nature. At La Biennale 2025, it asks: What if buildings could breathe, grow, and return to the earth?
Exhibited at the Arsenale from May 10 to November 23, 2025
Team:
Anomalia (Design and Research)
Bhakti V Loonawat
Suyash Sawant
MYCL (Research and Production)
Robbi Zidna IIman
Ronaldiaz Hartantyo
Rizqi Paradila Akbarianti
M Yusuf Nurhadi
Supporters:
Tumurun Museum, Indonesia
P4G
Tata Metal, Indonesia
Godrej Design Lab
HYBEC
Namrata Foundation
Photography : Silvia Miralles Perez @silvia.miralles
What’s next?
MycoMuseum pioneers a vision and action for harmony between human innovation and the environment through circularity.
The MycoBlox from the MycoMuseum are adapted as furniture. Functional. Modular.Grown, not built.MycoMuseum invites you toreimagine living— where every piece holds a story of true sustainability and quiet rebellion.
Click Here to see the images for grown not built catalogue
