From the EU-led MUSAE project, a symbiotic habitat prototype reshapes

As part of the EU’s S+T+ARTS residency program within the MUSAE project, Growing Futures has been selected as a visionary initiative redefining the possibilities of design thinking. The project is a collaboration between Italian designer Daniela Amandolese and the Basque Biodesign Center, based in the Basque Country, Spain.

Growing Futures explores a new model of symbiotic design in which mycelium, robotics, and humans interact to co-create biodegradable, adaptive habitats that grow directly on-site. In contrast to conventional architecture and product design models that rely on extractive and industrial processes, this project leverages local food waste as a substrate to cultivate native fungal species, shifting from "extracting materials" to "growing materials" within a regenerative and cyclical system.

Mycelium is not treated as a passive material but as a living agent with the capacity to grow, adapt, and decompose. Within this dynamic system, robots autonomously monitor temperature, humidity, and nutrient levels, adjusting environmental parameters in real time to support optimal mycelium development. Humans act as facilitators, orchestrating the overall system through iterative prototyping and context-sensitive design interventions.

Rather than simply developing biomaterials, Growing Futures establishes a co-creative platform that incorporates environmental, social, and biological intelligence. The project advanced through four foundational MUSAE research phases—challenge exploration, inspirational research, ideation, and concept development—and culminated in a 12-step prototyping phase. These phases involved testing free-form and cast-mold mycelium growth, integrating robotic nutrient distribution, and developing fully integrated ecosystems. Through these experiments, the team produced architectural prototypes that are multilayered, resilient, and inherently sustainable, transcending the limitations of single-material, single-function construction.

Growing Futures proposes a fundamental shift from designing with nature to designing through and alongside nature. Materials are seen not as static resources, but as living, responsive agents in continual transformation. The designer becomes not the sole author, but a facilitator of biological and systemic processes. This regenerative and symbiotic approach is scalable—from product design to architecture, and in the future, to urban ecosystems. As a model of ecological restoration and future co-creation, Growing Futures challenges the conventions of current design paradigms and opens a dialogue between technological innovation and natural intelligence.