WEBtopia

Bio-Web

For the bio-web, we looked into specific food-based waste management of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Residue (TCMR) to create a web of dead organic layers to nurture the bioremediators. TCMR is widely used in diet and medical treatment, and over 5000 tonnes of residue are produced every year.  We experimented with TCMR to establish its potential of being a living source for the fungi.  

WEBtopia Network: Bio-Web and Myco-Pods

We explored the concept of mycorrhizae, an underground communication network where an exchange of carbon and nutrients exists among the fungi and plant kingdom. We further derived the Webtopia design structure through the mirrored biomimicry of mycorrhizae. This mutualistic symbiosis ensures botanical success.  We chose four saprophytic plastic feeding fungi species for the myco-pods.

Myco-Pods

The myco-pods chambering the fungi species and restoration seeds are woven into a perforated TCMR layer, mimicking the nodes and networks of the mycorrhizae.The fungi thrives and degrades the web and plastic, as lush green gradually replaces the waste, creating an overground landscape of symbiotic existence. Thus Webtopia becomes a part of the biological kingdom. Myco-remediation is a slow process, but ongoing research envisions a promising future in its advancement for maintaining wastescapes.

WEBtopia Futures

With over 50 other fungi species expressing decomposing abilities around the world and native botanical wastes to create the web, we see the potential of this concept to reach every corner of the world, where the communities can develop the design according to their environmental needs.

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