MyCoLab: Robotic Fabrication of Architectured Mycelium Composites for Sustainable Construction

The interdisciplinary team led by Ehsan Baharlou (Assistant Professor, School of Architecture), Prasanna Balachandran (Assistant Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering), and Osman Ozbulut (Associate Professor, Department of Engineering Systems and Environment) received funding from UVA’s Environmental Resilience Institute through its CoLab Program (2023–2025) to establish the MycoLab. The MycoLab serves as a research platform for investigating additively manufactured mycelium-based building materials and their application in low-carbon, biodegradable construction systems. The project focuses on developing fabrication workflows, experimental protocols, and material testing methods to understand how biological growth, material composition, and digital fabrication strategies can be integrated for sustainable architectural applications.