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@mycelium.village
Building a regenerative village from mushrooms, culture, and community.
A First-of-Its-Kind Mushroom Village Designed for a Regenerative Future
The Mycelium Village is a first-of-its-kind collaboration to build a structural mycelium ecovillage in Yunnan, China named Mykos. Mykos is a prototype sustainable village on a mushroom farm in Yunnan, featuring early designs for a visitor center, gallery, BnBs, and a small research hub.
Led by UC Davis Biodesign, Yunnan Arts University, and Redhouse Studio Architecture, the project uses mycobricks—made from agricultural waste and mushroom roots—to construct sustainable housing inspired by traditional Yi architecture.
An International Team Bridging Biodesign, Architecture, and Local Knowledge
This international effort is led by:
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Dr. Christina Cogdell (UC Davis Biodesign)
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Dr. Danting Sun (Yunnan Arts University)
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Chris Maurer (Redhouse Studio, creator of MycoHAB)
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Yi community members and mushroom farmers from Yunnan and Sichuan
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Technical guidance provided by Prof. Valeria La Saponara
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UC Davis – Bio Design Students
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Yunnan Arts University – Environmental Design students
The Mykos Ecovillage is made possible through collaboration across disciplines and borders — combining biodesign, architectural innovation, material science, and cultural wisdom from Yunnan’s communities.
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Honoring Traditions, Creating Opportunity: How the Ecovillage Uplifts Local Communities
Mykos is rooted in partnership. It celebrates Yunnan’s diverse ethnic traditions, supports local artisans, and opens new economic pathways through eco-tourism, cultural exchange, and skill-building in sustainable design.
By turning agricultural waste into building materials, the Mycos Ecovillage offers a carbon-negative alternative to burning crop residues. It also promotes economic empowerment through tourism, artisan production, and sustainable construction — all while preserving Indigenous knowledge and local identity.
Rooted in the Cultural and Ecological Heart of China
Yunnan is a global fungal biodiversity hotspot with nearly 900 edible mushroom species and deep cultural ties to mushroom foraging and ritual. The ecovillage is located on a Yi mushroom farm and built in traditional Yi architectural style — celebrating and preserving the region’s ethnic identity while creating economic and ecological opportunity.
Mykos
Don't
Burn.
Build!
Rooted in Waste. Built to Last.
We're sparking the future of sustainable design in China—one mykobrick at a time. By building a prototype structure that proves the strength and potential of mycelium-based materials, we aim to inspire local officials and ignite industry change. In partnership with regional mushroom farmers, we're transforming agricultural waste into high-impact, eco-friendly materials and fueling a circular bioeconomy that reimagines what's possible in architecture.
Mykos & the Global Goals
Every mycobrick we cultivate supports a bigger mission. The Mykos Ecovillage advances multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals by transforming agricultural waste into sustainable building materials, collaborating with rural mushroom farmers, and exploring regenerative design that prioritizes health, equity, and environmental care.
The Mykos Story: Watch It Come to Life
A short film about the vision, process, and people building the world’s first mycelium village — where culture, design, and sustainability come together one mycobrick at a time.
Meet Our Teams
The Website and Video Team
The Sealants Team
This team aims to experiment with combining various mushroom species in the development of mycelium bricks intended for construction use. The team will also analyze the structure of compressed bricks to gain a deeper understanding of the changes that occur during compression. Additionally, the team is exploring the integration of mycelial bricks with Streptomyces bacteria for potential functional enhancements.
This team will be designing a website, promotional video, and cohesive brand identity to communicate the mission and vision of the overall project. This includes developing visual assets, typography, and layout systems that reflect the project's sustainable values and cultural context. The goal is to create an engaging and accessible digital presence that unifies the work of all teams.
This team aims to enhance the water resistance of mycelium-based composites using plant-based sealants. It involves comparing the effectiveness of various sealants—specifically, an oil-wax coating with a hydrophobic nanostructure created through salt templating and a sealant derived from agave leaf wax. These sealants will be tested across substrates with varying compression levels using standardized testing protocols (ASTM) to evaluate their performance.
The Product/Textile Design Team
This team will be cultivating mycelium leather to pair with mycelium composites in the production of functional and aesthetic design objects. Their work explores the potential of bio-based materials in everyday applications, including reupholstering a chair with a wood and mycelium bio-welded backing, designing a lamp, and crafting various small mycelium leather goods. The goal is to demonstrate the versatility and sustainability of mycelium in product design.
The Color/Dyes Team
The Coloring Mycelium Team will be exploring natural methods of adding color and texture to mycelium materials. They aim to extract organic dyes from sources like beets and mushrooms, introduce color through bacteria and substrate infusion, and test traditional textile dyeing methods. Additionally, they will experiment with surface finishes such as wool flocking, sand, and soil textures to enhance the aesthetic appeal of mycelium bricks and leather.
The Clay & Adobe Team
The Acoustics Team
She is testing mycelium’s porous nature and biodegradability a promising eco-friendly alternative to conventional sound-absorbing foam. This team will be developing multiple prototypes of mycelium-based acoustic panels designed to compete with existing commercial products.
The Spent Mushroom Substrate Team
This team is running two parallel experiments exploring the use of mycelium in construction and speculative design. One branch focuses on developing composite adobe and mycelium bricks for structural testing and potential building applications. The other explores extruding mycelium-based composites using a clay 3D printer to form experimental structures, starting with clay and clay–mycelium blends.
YAU Environmental Design Students
The Yunnan Arts University (YAU) students are designing architectural prototypes and floor plans for the Mykos village, drawing from traditional Yi forms and cultural practices. Their work features stepped, flat-roofed structures that follow the contours of the hillside landscape. In addition to their design contributions, they have shared valuable knowledge about Yi culture and provided thoughtful feedback throughout the collaborative process.
