Mykra

A sustainable furniture panel alternative

Introduction
The topic of consumer excess is omnipresent. Particularly with regard to our increasing environmental problems, it is clear that it doesn’t matter whether it’s in the fashion industry or the food industry: our overconsumption has a serious impact on the environment and ultimately on ourselves. There are also considerable challenges in the furniture industry due to excessive purchases of furnishings. New collections and the hottest pieces of furniture are constantly in demand in order to stand out.

Institute
Dessau Department of Design

Student
Sofia Stateczny

Support
Anna Gronemeyer

Supervision
Prof. Dr. Manuel Kretzer
Prof. Nicolai Neubert

Project Date

2024

Category

Biomaterials

The main problem is that a lot of furniture, especially cheap furniture, is mass-produced from chipboard. These have the advantage that they can be produced at a supposedly low cost for the manufacturer, but also have a major disadvantage as they are short-lived and cannot be used for several generations. This is also due to the fact that trends are so fast-moving. Disposal must also be viewed critically, as although the furniture is largely made of wood, it can no longer be considered a pure raw material as it is pressed with glue. The furniture has lost its value; its life expectancy is just between three and seven years.

One consequence of this behavior is that giants such as IKEA clear 21 million m³ of wood every year for the production of this short-lived furniture, which corresponds to an area of 625 km². These forests can neither grow back quickly enough to cover consumption, nor do the replacement “forests”, which are usually planted in monoculture, replace the unique ecosystems that are up to 100 years old.

For this reason, I have set myself the task of completely replacing wood with a mycelium composite and thus revolutionizing the mass production of modular furniture.Since mass production in the industry is not generally a bad thing and also has advantages – such as cost reduction, which makes it possible to give more people access to affordable furniture – it was important to me that the approach developed could hypothetically be transferred to the industry. That’s how I developed the concept for mykra.

mykra consists of mycelium plates, which can be completely composted after the furniture has died due to their natural components. Aluminum brackets make it possible to replace individual elements. The necessary stability of the individual panels is provided by the ingrown bamboo inside the panel, which functions like a reinforcement. Initial tests have shown a load capacity of 50 kg.

The mycelium is the real miracle material here. It is already making groundbreaking progress in a number of other applications. It can completely replace chipped and compressed wood; its natural growth enables it to increase in volume and at the same time combine natural raw materials. It is possible to grow the fungus further and further with the addition of nutrients, which also represents a more cost-effective alternative for the industry. All that is needed is a sterile environment and sufficient heat – these are the basics to allow it to continue growing on composite materials such as hemp bedding.

There are then different types of processing. In the case of mykra, after an eight-day growth phase, the boards are cured with a heating press at over 120 degrees and are then ready for further processing. This creates a smooth surface that offers less surface area for the material to tear. However, it is also possible to cut the boards to size or allow the fungus to grow on veneer.

So I think this is just the beginning of a new step in furniture production. Unfortunately, we cannot change our consumption as easily as the raw materials we use and in what form.

Institute
Dessau Department of Design

Student
Sofia Stateczny

Support
Anna Gronemeyer

Supervision
Prof. Dr. Manuel Kretzer
Prof. Nicolai Neubert

Project Date

2024

Project Date

Category

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