Mycelia House is a cultivation system for growing and showcasing the beauty of oyster mushrooms in the home.
The design promotes a move towards more sustainable food practices, an appreciation of the fungi kingdom, and a deeper connection with nature.
About
Caity Duffus is a designer and the steward of Mycelia House - a project that started as her Industrial Design Honours work (2020) and has now grown into a commercial product on a craft scale.
Blending a love of functional design, ceramics, fungi, and the natural world, Mycelia House emerged as a quiet response to what we need most: a call to re-centre our relationships. To listen more deeply. To care more fully. And to rebuild inner and outer threads of connection.
Photography: Hamish McIntosh for The Powerhouse Museum
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Mycelia House is designed to cultivate a variety of oyster mushrooms. These mushrooms are renowned for their nutritional and medicinal benefits, and they are also sustainable and regenerative to grow. The design draws inspiration from mushroom grow kits and the bucket growth method, which involve filling plastic bags or buckets with a mycelium-infused growth substrate, puncturing them with holes, and placing them in conditions for fruiting.
Mushroom grow kits offer an accessible and engaging way for beginners to cultivate their own mushrooms at home, while also gaining insights into the circular economy.
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We live in a globalized world that has evolved to living in urban areas. Technology is advancing rapidly and with this we are desiring products we can connect with and emotionally relate to. The Covid 19 pandemic has had a ripple effect into the way we live and work, spending more time at home, as well as we are noticing and craving a deeper relationship with ourselves, the natural world and our daily routine. With trends arising in the localisation of food production and DIY alternatives, as well as a love for houseplants, the concept for mycelia houses has manifested. When we localise food, this leads to more sustainable and diverse food systems.
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Sustainability has been considered at every stage of the creative process, from connecting with people, to exploring processes and materials, the user’s experience, and observing beginning and end of life cycles, inspired by the intelligence of mycelial networks. What if being more sustainable was about how we respond to and communicate with the world around us? First Nations cultures have long embodied this understanding, living in deep relationship with land, water, and all beings.
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Mycelia House intends to imbue ritual into everyday life through caring for and tending to the mushrooms. The design will contribute to a future where we grow our own food at home and this will evolve to growing locally within our communities. We envision a shift toward sustainable and regenerative food systems that prioritise quality, efficiency, and the well-being.
The Network
Many people have supported this journey so far, and the vision is to keep this growing. Mycelia House will continue to welcome collaboration across disciplines - bringing together creatives to share stories, create experiences, and explore the beauty and application of fungi in our systems.
Caity received funding and mentorship support for this project and without it, Mycelia House wouldn’t be where it is today. Thank you to the generosity of the Carl Nielsen Accelerator Program with the Powerhouse Museum (follow the 👾). Thank you to Ed Ko, Angelique Hutchison, Tashi Grey and Adam Laws for this opportunity and your support, and also to Ruffle Farm and Milkwood for your myco-knowledge.
Standing with every creative is a strong support network. Caity would like to acknowledge and thank Robbi Pittorino, Vicki Grima, Andrew Simpson, Sabrina Piro, Jess Coulson, Joel Brauer, Nick Rita, Carolyn Hickey, Susie Hemsted, Mirna Novosel, Melissa Gilbert, Nicola Jephcott, Luke Reid, Glenn Duffus, and Sue Duffus.
