Fungus as a Building Material

These bricks aren't made of clay, but mushrooms. Artist Philip Ross grows one species into useful, durable shapes:

Feeding it agricultural waste, Ross grows each prototype onsite in an ultra-controlled environment, using a mold, filtered air, gravity, and pressure to achieve the shape: An armchair took two weeks to grow. Then he kiln-dies them, leaving little or no odor and a texture similar to high-density foam or cork. The species he uses, ganoderma, can attain almost any texture given the right conditions: "Fluffy cotton, rubber, high-impact plastic, cork, styrofoam, or a complex hybrid composite--all within the same monolithic object," he says.

What other pizza toppings could be turned into building materials?

Link -via Smart News | Photo: Philip Ross