Mae-Ling Lokko

MMC revolutionizes clean building with mycelium panels

Mae-ling Lokko used mycelium panels grown by Magical Mushroom Company® to create two installations for her Grounds for Return exhibition at Z33 House in Belgium.
Mae-Ling Lokko is an artist, designer and architectural scientist from Ghana and the Philippines who specialises in using mycelium. Her mission focuses on the upcycling of agrowaste and biopolymer materials into high-performance, sustainable and clean building materials. Lokko’s work was nominated for the Visible Award 2019, Royal Academy Dorfman Award 2020 and she was a finalist for the Hublot Design Prize 2019.

The Problem

Mae-ling was staging her first European solo art exhibition at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture in Hasselt, Belgium.

To highlight the issues facing modern construction and its environment, Mae-Ling designed two mycelium installations as part of her show Grounds for Return.

She designed 300 intricate patterned panels for her Healing Meadow floor exhibit along with 300 acoustic wall panels for her Mycotunnel installation.

However, as an independent designer, she did not have the space and infrastructure to grow the large quantities of mycelium panels required.

The Solution

Mae-Ling and MMC both believe that growing building materials using mycelium can shape the future with healthy building environments.

So Mae-Ling sent her CADs to the skilled MMC industrial design team in Esher, UK: the only operation in Europe that can deliver the project.

Our in-house CAD expert worked in tandem with MMC’s production team, which then combined recycled hemp with mycelium using technology pioneered by Ecovative to grow the biodegradable planet-friendly panels.

The Esher plant Mushroom 1 shipped 300 undulating ‘Healing’ panels and 300 expertly executed wall panels to Belgium in just four weeks on time for the exhibition - one of the MMC team’s proudest moments.

The Results

The sustainable future is now. Using mycelium, MMC and Mae-Ling transformed waste products into building materials creating circular agriculture and architecture in a quest to restore the construction industry’s relationship with the earth.

Magical Mushroom Company® was able to provide high-quality mycelium products at scale and efficiency for an ambitious design project outside of the UK. With nothing going to waste.

The sustainable panels showed the possibilities for mycelium in terms of scope, customization, shape and size. And they look beautiful too.

The joint project reiterates the scale and potential multiple applications of mycelium by the Magical Mushroom Company®. We hope our collaboration is just the start.

“ Working with MMC to grow large quantities of mycelium panels made this process incredibly straightforward and efficient ”

“ The lifecycle of mycelium-based building materials and products are compelling; they take renewable resources in the form of agricultural and food waste. It is a low-energy, non-toxic production method to produce materials we need.