Aiming to meet the increasing need for humans to connect with nature despite the intensity of modern life, Dutch designer and sustainability advocate Morgan Ruben has expertly merged nature with technology in his forthcoming piece Folium — a light fixture grown from mycelium (the root system of mushrooms) and hemp.
Drawing inspiration from foliage motifs that appear in greenbelts across the globe, Morgan is setting out to create a sustainable, aesthetic, and eco-friendly design that isn’t just nature-inspired but incorporates nature into the very essence of its creation.
Working in collaboration with Grown Bio, a Dutch biotech company that specializes in making single-use packaging out of mycelium, the mushroom-based technology takes shape as colonies of fungi digest plant fibres like hemp and the root system grows into the shape of the mould it is encased in – in this case Ruben’s leaf design.
Ruben lets the mycelium material grow until he is satisfied with the shape and colour of his design, and then treats it with a low-level heat to prevent it from growing actual mushrooms. The result of this process is a tough, durable material that with time, “Ruben aims to transform into a marble-like, premium material as insight into its qualities increases with time.”
“[Mycelium] is a material that is ideally suited for a circular economy,” says Ruben. “Production uses only biological matter and waste material can be used as a primary ingredient, for example, hemp, flax, or wood fibres.”
Continuing his legacy of streamlined design, Folium fits beautifully with the clean, minimal style of contemporary interior design, with the low-energy LED light system he uses diffusing bright, ambient light through the Folium’s leaf shade in a way that mimics natural sunlight. Aiming to increase human health and wellbeing with this aesthetic connection to nature, Folium proves a “future-forward” design, proving that a sustainable future does not need to sacrifice beauty.
All images in this article are courtesy of Morgan Ruben.
