Jestico + Whiles completes key new learning centre for the University of Cambridge
A new building that offers co-working and social spaces, the West Hub marks the start of the transformation of the West Cambridge Site into a centre for innovation.
The studio collects cardboard waste found around the cities – from coffee cups to pizza boxes – and transforms the waste into a biomaterial by introducing reishi, an edible fungus.
Blast Studio is a design studio created in 2018 by Paola Garnousset, Martin Detoeuf and Pierre de Pingon with the aim of exploring how nature and technology can be combined to transform discarded urban materials into products and architecture.
The studio collects cardboard waste found around the cities – from coffee cups to pizza boxes – and transforms the waste into a biomaterial by introducing reishi, an edible fungus. The mycelium roots of the fungi naturally degrade the waste, transforming it into a strong and versatile material, recycling carbon and other essential elements in the process.
The mycelium grows and creates a skin with unpredictable colours and patterns which is as soft as a peach skin. Once fully grown, the studio dries the object to stop the development of the organism, then sculpting it into unique products using 3D printing technology.
The so-called artefacts include a collection of unique tables in various colours, generated using an algorithm that recreates shapes of nature, inspired by tree trunks and stems. Also available are colourful tiles and sheets created for use in interior cladding, available plain or with a custom–made pattern.
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