The research team Circular Building of the CTU UCEEB has been cooperating for a long time with the registered association
MYMO, which aims to use mycelium as a natural building material. The experimental house called Samorost, which was built in
České Budějovice as the first Czech building with insulation made of mycelium, should also attract attention to its potential.
The Samorost project consists of two rooms connected by a corridor and looks like two mushrooms growing in a forest. For
a wooden building more than three metres high and over seven metres long, its creators used a total of 1,800 kilograms of
mycocomposite, a mycelium-based material that offers applications ranging from furniture and design tiles to internal thermal
and acoustic insulation, where it can fully replace polystyrene.
"Mycocomposite has the major advantage of being made from natural, renewable raw materials - wood, cellulose. Unlike standard
polystyrene, which is made from fossil resources," says Jan Pešta, head of the Circular Building research team, who analysed the environmental
impact of mycocomposite over its entire life cycle assessment and confirmed its environmental benefits over traditional materials.
The dimensions and design of Samorost have been modified to allow it to be easily handled and transported for future travelling
presentations. It should be used primarily for glamping, a more luxurious form of camping. Similar buildings can also serve
as community centres in urban parks or as shelters in the countryside where tourists can find refuge in bad weather.
