Group 01
MYCO-POD

The boiler house is a center to bring together a community through the hosting of free workshops and low-cost workshop spaces. Workshops include woodworking and mycelium growing as a way of teaching new hands-on skills to the community. Mycelium is the root network of mushrooms and can be used in architecture as an insulator and as a structural material. In the future, the Boiler House strives to fit their building with mycelium insulation, a carbon-negative product. For the past few weeks, they have been growing mycelium insulation for us to design a sitting pod to fill with this locally-grown insulation. This pod will educate the public and funders about the power of mycelium while providing a usable seat to experience the insulative and acoustic dampening effects. The pod will also house research about how mycelium is grown, how it can be used as insulation, and how effective it is. The work we do will help contribute to the research and funding needed to make their unheated hangar space usable in the colder months. Our project aims to provide a product for the Boiler House that showcases their workshop facilities, mycelium growing initiative, and helps get funding to insulate their building. During the two weeks you spend with our team you will get to partake in a physical build and research a new carbon-negative, sustainable material.

Lauren Lok-Men N

WHAT IS THE BOILER HOUSE

The boiler house is a former power station located in Moss Side, Manchester. In the 1990s it functioned as a power station for thousands of homes, and since has been repurposed for a social enterprise, Sow the City. It provides free and low-cost workshop spaces, tools, and equipment. They have hosted a number of workshops that promote the development of skills for employment, health and well-being, circular economy, and promoting gender and race equality. In the past their workshops have ranged from wood ring making, to fabricating new products, to growing new products . The boiler house provides a space for everyone of all ages, backgrounds, and gender to participate in hands-on ways to shape their lives and communities.
Posted 12 Mar 2023 21:53
GROW YOUR SKILLS

The skills you will develop through our project are research about sustainable products, construction of wood and insulation through a design build, and graphic design.

Though you may not have some of these listed skills, you will develop them through engagement and passion put into this project.
Posted 12 Mar 2023 21:55
THE PROJECT OUTPUT

In short, the project is to utilize the workshops that the boiler house offer to design and build a physical pod for people to sit and work in. This pod will provide an opportunity to engage with the public as a way of showcasing the workshops used to build it.

Additionally, the pod will display how mushrooms can be used as insulation. The research collected during the two weeks of the project will help provide the boiler house with future funding to insulate their building with the same material used in the pod.
Posted 12 Mar 2023 21:56
Hi, I'm Binyang

I am from Beijing, China and did my undergrad at the Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture.

I am in the studio: Infrastructure Space. I have previously worked at Architectural design and Research Institute of BUCEA Co.,LTD. Over the years I have developed skills in physical model making, Rhino, AutoCAD, Sketchup, and the Adobe Suite. And beyond architecture I am interested in travel, painting, sports.

Posted 12 Mar 2023 22:01
Hi, I’m Ugne!

I graduated from the University of Westminster in 2021.
I’m currently in Continuity in Architecture Atelier. I love old and unique buildings, and adaptive reuse projects as older buildings often have historical significance and architectural details that cannot be replicated in new construction.

I'm excited to have a chance to work with the new members of our team!
Posted 12 Mar 2023 22:04
Hi, I’m Mary!

I graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2021 and spent a year out working in a primary school with children who were behind due to Covid.

I’m currently in the Some Kind of Nature Atelier, and love considering how designs can bring people closer to nature, be that mediated through the use of natural and renewable materials or employing design strategies that either frame or support the growth of nature.

I’m looking forward to meeting the new members of our team and getting started!
Posted 12 Mar 2023 22:05
Hi, I'm Holly!

I am from Leeds, UK, and previously studied at the University of Nottingham. During my year out I worked at the Associated Architects. Currently, I am in the atelier: Continuity in Architecture.

I am interested in art, travel, music and illustration. I am looking forward to meeting all of our new team members and getting started with the project!
Posted 12 Mar 2023 22:08
Hi, I’m Lauren!

I graduated from the University of Toronto in 2021 and worked at Perkins & Will for one year. Currently, I am in the Some Kind of Nature Atelier. I am interested in creating comfortable designs through sustainable methods.

Outside of Architecture I am interested in food, travel, medical dramas and true crime.
Posted 12 Mar 2023 22:08