Interview with doxiadis+ for their new project ‘Fungality’’

Central Image: Petri dish with Aspergillus spp. culture, invaded by fungi from the surrounding environment/ Kindly provided by doxiadis+

The architecture and landscape office doxiadis+ was founded in 1999 by Thomas Doxiadis and has since studied and carried through a plethora of works of multiple typologies but based on the concepts of respect and symbiosis. With a large team of architects, landscape architects, agriculturists and designers, the office deals with issues ranging from architecture and landscape to master planning, national environmental strategies and ecology, and even fungi. The latter are the eccentric protagonists that won our interest and about which doxiadis+ will talk to us. 

How would you describe doxiadis+ in a nutshell?

The doxiadis+ office is a pioneering team of experts creating landscapes and architecture with a deep respect for people and nature. Since the founding of the office, Forming Symbiosis has been our main driving point and prime philosophy. We are driven by a constant sense of wonder and respect for the intricate relationships between living things. In understanding these connections, we aim to create beautiful spaces in which people can thrive in balance with their environment. Our love and respect for diversity and symbiotic relationships is reflected not only in our projects but also in the extensive research we have been undertaking throughout the years. This covers a vast array of topics: dry garden experimentation in the Cyclades, studies on climate change and the future of mediterranean forests, and reduce-reuse-recycle public space intervention.

Fungi is featured in some of your latest projects. How did this theme come about?

Our actual engagement and research on the kingdom of fungi, initiated from the moment we received the invitation to participate in the 17th Biennale of Architecture. Inspired by the question “How will we live together” we knew that we had to create a project about symbiotic relationships and highlight its importance. This invitation led to the design and growth our fungi garden.  

Experimental design with fungi / Kindly provided by doxiadis+

The world and humanity’s relationship with nature works as a well-blended whole. This whole consists of webs of mutual entanglements between the kingdoms of life which are constantly shifting. We are only alive because of the web of life on earth and the subtle and constant exchange which takes place among all living organisms. Understanding this offers a completely new, extraordinary understanding of the world and shifts our perspectives and mind frame.  

Taking the above as a starting point we started studying the way trees communicate along with their relationship with mushrooms -and therefore also mycelium-, which after several hours of investigation and brainstorming led to fungi. We took on this project working with what was found on site and this reflects the way we work as an office. Each project is unique. It concerns a site and its context. We study, discover and understand the life, the elements and processes which take place on each site, aiming to respect and showcase it.

Why fungi? 

Fungi are the hidden heroes of this web of life and constitute the kingdom between plants and animals. Fungi are creators of life, facilitators, and decomposers. They are as resilient as a rock and turn rock into life through edafogenesis. They form mycelium networks connecting trees and plants through mycorrhiza. They are the recyclers of nature, metabolizing the decomposing organic matter to return it to the biological cycle. Without them, life on Earth as we know it cannot exists. And they are simply everywhere, although almost no one notices them.

They are the heroes of the web of life, and this is the exact message we consider vital and needs to be understood by each one of us. We believe that without entanglement and symbiotic relationships our future would be in limbo.  

We observed that fungi, and especially mycelium has been studied in advanced engineering studies for their endless possibilities of application in the fields of production, packaging and construction, and we consider it to be the "material of the future”. 

Mycelium and Schizophyllum commune mushroom grown in a petri dish / Kindly provided by doxiadis+

What was the starting point of ‘Fungality’?

After presenting ‘Entangled Kingdoms’ at the 17th Biennale of Architecture, we were contacted by Soundwalk collective, a remarkable group of artists, to collaborate in a new exhibition in Rome Italy. This was the starting point of ‘Fungality’, presented in Forof Roma during February 2022. In this exhibition, we explored the “sexuality” of fungi and how it relates to the evolution of sexuality as we know it but mainly how it can help us imagine the future of sexuality. 

Petri dish with Schizophyllum commune culture invaded by fungi of the surrounding environment, creating its own powerful micro-landscape. This particular fungus is popular for its thousands of “sexual identities”. / Kindly provided by doxiadis+

Petri dishes in the Forof exhibition | Kindly provided by Forof, doxiadis+

Petri dishes in the Forof exhibition | Kindly provided by Forof, doxiadis+

What is ‘Fungality’?

‘Fungality’ is a retrospective of sexual evolution from fungi to robots. This work is an in vitro study of fungal growth and reproduction as depicted in CNC milled petri dishes placed on an acrylic foundation of a 3d scanned ruin.  

‘Fungality’ is an observatory of fungal colonization, one of the oldest life formations. Five cultures of fungi emerge from an invisible base located within the ancient ruin of Palazzo Roccagiovine. The comprehension of these complex organisms opens new windows in the way we understand and perceive life, biological functions, and evolutionary processes of other organisms.  

Petri dish with Aspergillus spp. culture invaded by surrounding fungi / Kindly provided by doxiadis+

Growing fungi develop diverse reproductive processes: Asexual, Sexual, and Parasexual. The growth of each fungus varies, and its response is dependent on the conditions of the exhibition space. Although at first fungi seem simple life forms, they have high diversity and usually entail complex reproduction systems, dynamic metabolism, adaptability, and behavioural strategies. All the above highlight the great significance they have on life formation and sustainability.

Petri dish with Schizophyllum commune culture / Kindly provided by doxiadis+

How does your research on fungi relate to previous projects by doxiadis+?  

Fungi was a brand new world for us. To design the fungi garden, we applied the same design principles we use in landscape design. The interesting part in the case of fungi is that we cannot control their behaviour or specifically design them, we rather predict and observe. This blend of designed randomness is what we find fascinating in the world of fungi.

Experiment in a large custum made petri dish, using different materials and fungi / Kindly provided by doxiadis+

How do you feel about the concept of “multispecies architecture”? Is it a truly sustainable model or more of a space for thinking beyond the anthropocentric restriction of more traditional design approaches?

As a team, we strongly believe that the concept of “multispecies architecture” is the sustainable model for our planet. We firmly believe that the only way for humanity to survive the multiple crises and thrive is by respecting the natural equilibriums and learning from the way that other species function and interact.  

The concept of “multispecies architecture” might at first seem like another avant-garde approach which only aims to broaden our perspective, however, it firmly expresses and forms its era. Architecture cannot be only anthropocentric and rigid any more, it must create spaces inspired by the different forms of life while respecting and coexisting with its surrounding nature. 

Petri dish with Epicocum monoculture / Kindly provided by doxiadis+

CREDITS

The study and implementation of the project could not have been completed without the precious help of our consultant Zapi Gonou, Assistant Professor of Fungi Systematics & Ecology (NKUA Biology department) and the Decode fab lab team. 

*The interview was lightly edited for brevity and clarity.