Shroom Stool

We buy most of our chairs as inert, fully formed objects. Any change that happens to them over time, like aging, is inadvertent and (usually) negative. But what if we could grow our furniture? Would our relationship with it change if we could see it come into being before using it? Perhaps our relationship would be less utilitarian, and more like the one we have with houseplants or our garden. ‘Shroom Stool’ explores these questions. It is made completely from materials accessible at the average hardware store, and contains no glue or metal fastenings so it can be completely composted at the end of its life. The seat is comprised of molded Blue Oyster mycelium (Pleurotus ostreatus) and waste sawdust substrate over a bamboo structure. A woven variation can be used while the mycelium seat grows strong enough to use.

Frame: heat bent bamboo

Fastenings: jute twine

Interim woven seat: jute and cotton twine

Mycelium seat: bent bamboo internal frame, sawdust, Blue Oyster mycelium