Description
Building on the successful analysis and testing of OS biocomposite ink and robotic extrusion–based fabrication, the biocomposite inks were applied to architectural–scale composite panels. A toolpath–informed biofabrication strategy was developed to guide fungal colonization within OS composites, focusing on the role of spatial geometry in enabling aerial mycelial growth without lignocellulosic substrates. A series of filling toolpath strategies were created and tested at small scale. Among the patterns tested, the Hilbert geometry demonstrated the highest colonization rates due to its symmetrical spacing and continuous path logic.
To scale up this approach, updated paste extruders mounted on the robot precisely printed the paste onto a custom indirect inoculation kit. This kit, combined with custom–built controlled incubation conditions, allowed mycelium to propagate from a living substrate into the printed scaffolds. High–resolution microscopy confirmed consistent hyphal bridges across layers, showing that geometric porosity and local oxygen drive growth even without lignocellulosic feedstock.
Program Development
Program Outcome
Treating tool–paths as biological interfaces reframes fabrication: growth becomes spatially programmed, not chemically embedded. The study provides a scalable framework for integrating living materials into construction by coupling digital tool–path design with metabolic control.
This project was presented at ACADIA 2025 Conference at Florida International University, Miami.
Project Team
Ehsan Baharlou (Project Lead), Ipsita Datta and Ye Ma
Project student research assistants
Paul Bourdin and Alexandra Daley
Image Credit
Computational Tectonics Lab, University of Virginia, 2025
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the support from Environmental Institute for this work through its CoLab program. The authors would like to thank student research assistants Paul Bourdin and Alexandra Daley for their assistance, as well as collaborator Prof. Osman Ozbulut (the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Virginia) for his contributions.