You wake up, roll out of bed on to a fungal floor. It’s got a nice soft bounce to it. You hop into your shower, also made of fungi, and turn on your water; which is piped to you by, you guessed it, fungi pipes. 

Ok, what the heck kind of dream is this? 

According to a scientific paper published a few months ago, it may not be a dream at all.

In response to the threat of continued climate change, researchers are looking way outside the box for ways we can drastically change our society to lower our reliance on fossil fuels. Shroom cities are one of those ideas. 

“We propose to develop a structural substrate by using live fungal mycelium,” reads the paper. “Fungal buildings will self-grow, build, and repair themselves.”

“Fungal materials can have a wide variety of mechanical properties ranging from foam-like to wood-like to polymer-like,” said Han Wösten, a microbiologist at The Netherlands’ and co-author of the paper. “The fact that we can make wood-like materials implies that we can use it for the building industry.”

This paper is the very first look at living-fungi buildings and what the possibilities might be here on Earth. Nasa has been playing around with the idea of mushroom infrastructure in space since 2018. Martian Mushroom Moonbase? It’s got a nice ring to it. 

The future applications of fungi are really something. If you want to learn more check out this article for more information.

Share this with someone who would want to live in a mushroom house!