Ephecelium explores the complex interconnections between biomaterials, nature-based design systems and their interactions with the environment.

With a focus on material hybridity, the project integrates mycelium-based composites along with cellulose-based envelopes, allowing for the manufacture of custom, high-resolution design strategies and sustainable fabrication techniques.

Swarm intelligence algorithms are issued as a design tool to investigate ways of aiding and enhancing the use of mycelium to generate a multi-use structure in Saint Andrews Botanical Garden, Scotland.

Considering parameters derived from environmental analysis, such as wind flow and rainfall distribution, the structure intentionally regulates moisture accumulation to provide the ideal conditions for continued growth.

The name of the project, Ephecelium, derives from Ephemeral and Mycelium, indicating the temporality of the structure. Mycelium, as a living material, will continuously grow within its integrated hosting structure, inviting the growth of other organisms to eventually decay, transferring the captured nutrients back to the soil.