Today’s architectural and agricultural practices negatively impact the planet. Mycelium-based composites are widely researched with the aim of producing sustainable building materials by upcycling organic byproducts. To go further, this study analyzed the growth process and tested the mechanical behavior of composite materials grown from fungal species used in bioremediation. Agricultural waste containing high levels of fertilizers serves as the substrate for mycelium growth to reduce chemical dispersal in the environment. Compression and three-point bending tests were conducted to evaluate the effects of the following variables on the mechanical behavior of mycelium-based materials: substrate particle size (with or without micro-particles), fungal species (Pleurotus ostreatus and Coprinus comatus), and post-growth treatment (dried, baked, compacted then dried, and compacted then baked). Overall, the density of the material positively correlated with its Young’s and elastic moduli, showing higher moduli for composites made from substrate with micro-particles and for compacted composites. Compacted then baked composites grown on the substrate with micro-particles provided the highest elastic moduli in compression and flexural testing. In conclusion, this study provides valuable insight into the selection of substrate particle size, fungal species, and post-growth treatment for various applications with a focus on material manufacturing, food production, and bioremediation.

Biomimetics is a field that has the potential to drive major technical advances. It might substantially support successful mastering of major global challenges. In the first part of the article, the current state of biomimetics is reviewed, and goals and visions of biomimetics are presented. Subsequently, possible biomimetic scenarios to overcome the major global challenges, as indicated by the Millennium Project, are envisaged. Those of the 15 challenges (sustainable development, water, population and resources, democratization, long-term perspectives, information technology, the rich—poor gap, health, capacity to decide, peace and conflict, status of women, transnational crime, energy, science and technology, and global ethics) where biomimetics might provide relevant contributions are considered in more detail. The year 2059 will mark the 100th anniversary of Part C of the Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science. By this time, some of these challenges will hopefully have been successfully dealt with, possibly with major contribution from biomimetics. A new Leitwissenschaft and a new type of ‘biological technology’ are emerging, and in biology more and more causation and natural laws are being uncovered. In order to estimate the fields of biology from which technical innovations are likely to appear, the amount of causal knowledge is estimated by comparing it with correlational knowledge in the respective fields. In some fields of biology, such as biochemistry and physiology, the amount of causal laws is high, whereas in fields such as developmental biology and ecology, we are just at the beginning. However, sometimes ideas and inspirations can also stem from nature when the causations are not known. The biomimetic approach might change the research landscape and the engineering culture dramatically, by the blending of disciplines (interdisciplinarity). The term ‘technoscience’ denotes the field where science and technology are inseparably interconnected, the trend goes from papers to patents, and the scientific ‘search for truth’ is increasingly replaced by search for applications with a potential economic value. Although the trend in many scientific fields goes towards applications for the market, a lot of disciplines will stick to the traditional picture of science. An open question left to the future is whether the one development or the other (technoscience or pure science) is an advantage for the future of humans. In the subsequent section, the article gives information about organizations active in biomimetics. It shows the relevance of biomimetics on a global scale, and gives reasons for promoting transdisciplinary learning. Increasing interdisciplinarity calls for novel ways to educate the young. Brian Cambourne's ‘Conditions of Learning’ theory is recommended in this respect. This dynamic and evolving model for literacy learning comprises the concepts immersion, demonstration, engagement, expectations, responsibility, employment, approximation, and response. Each of these conditions supports both the student and the teacher in their discovery of learning, helps provide a context within which to learn, and creates an interactive and dynamic experience between the learner and the content. In the year 2059, researchers and developers who routinely think across boundaries shall successfully implement knowledge in solving the major challenges of their time!

The continuous increase in population and human migration to urban and coastal areas leads to the expansion of built environments over natural habitats. Current infrastructure suffers from environmental changes and their impact on ecosystem services. Foundations are static anchoring structures dependent on soil compaction, which reduces water infiltration and increases flooding. Coastal infrastructure reduces wave action and landward erosion but alters natural habitat and sediment transport. On the other hand, root systems are multifunctional, resilient, biological structures that offer promising strategies for the design of civil and coastal infrastructure, such as adaptivity, multifunctionality, self-healing, mechanical and chemical soil attachment. Therefore, the biomimetic methodology is employed to abstract root strategies of interest for the design of building foundations and coastal infrastructures that prevent soil erosion, anchor structures, penetrate soils, and provide natural habitat. The strategies are described in a literature review on root biology, then these principles are abstracted from their biological context to show their potential for engineering transfer. After a review of current and developing technologies in both application fields, the abstracted strategies are translated into conceptual designs for foundation and coastal engineering. In addition to presenting the potential of root-inspired designs for both fields, this paper also showcases the main steps of the biomimetic methodology from the study of a biological system to the development of conceptual technical designs. In this way the paper also contributes to the development of a more strategic intersection between biology and engineering and provides a framework for further research and development projects.

Engineers, designers and architects often look to nature for inspiration. The research on 'natural constructions' is aiming at innovation and the improvement of architectural quality. The introduction of life sciences terminology in the context of architecture delivers new perspectives towards innovation in architecture and design. The investigation is focused on the analogies between nature and architecture. Apart from other principles that are found in living nature, an interpretation of the so-called 'signs of life', which characterize living systems, in architecture is presented. Selected architectural projects that have applied specific characteristics of life, whether on purpose or not, will show the state of development in this field and open up future challenges. The survey will include famous built architecture as well as students' design programs, which were carried out under supervision of the author at the Department of Design and Building Construction at the Vienna University of Technology.

This paper discusses the approach of biomimetic design in architecture applied to the theme of growth in biology by taking two exemplary research projects at the intersection of arts and sciences. The first project, ‘Biornametics’, dealt with patterns from nature; the second project ‘Growing as Building (GrAB)’ took on biological growth as a specific theme for the transfer to architecture and the arts. Within a timeframe of five years (2011–2015), the research was conducted under the Program for Arts-based Research PEEK (Programm zur Entwicklung und Erschliessung der Künste) of the Austrian Science Fund FWF (Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung). The underlying hypothesis was that growth processes in nature have not been studied for transfer into technology and architecture yet and that, with advanced software tools, promising applications could be found. To ensure a high degree of innovation, this research was done with an interdisciplinary team of architects, engineers, and scientists (mainly biologists) to lay the groundwork for future product-oriented technological solutions. Growth, as one of the important characteristics of living organisms, is used as a frame for research into systems and principles that shall deliver innovative and sustainable solutions in architecture and the arts. Biomimetics as a methodology was used to create and guide information transfer from the life sciences to innovative proto-architectural solutions. The research aimed at transferring qualities present in biological growth; for example, adaptiveness, exploration, or local resource harvesting into technical design and production processes. In contrast to our current building construction, implementing principles of growth could potentially transform building towards a more integrated and sustainable setting, a new living architecture. Tools and methods, especially Quality Function Deployment (QFD) for matching biological role models with growth principles and architecturally desired functions and a Biolab as an experimentation platform are presented. Three main experimental trajectories were explored that matched the objectives of the research: (1) Transfer from biology into architecture, namely self-growing structures (proto-steps in form of a mobile 3D printer working with local material); (2) Integration of biology into material systems, namely fragmented waste matter grown into one solid building material (mycelium); and (3) Interventions in existing architecture, namely optimization of 3D path-finding through a single cell organism (slime mold).