‘Mycelial Meshworks’, project by Elisava teachers Roger Paez and Manuela Valtchanova, at Melbourne Design Week 2024

The project Mycelial Meshworks, by Elisava teachers Roger Paez and Manuela Valtchanova, will be exhibited at Mycocosm, an exhibition by the Common Design Studio as part of Melbourne Design Week, organized with the RMIT School of Design, la University of Arts in London and the RMIT School of Communication & Design in Vietnam. Mycocosm aims to investigate mycelium fungi through hands-on design research, making connections between practice, knowledge, and the future.

The intersection between art, design, architecture and the city is explored through maps and cartography. Maps are powerful tools that not only represent the world, but also help to understand and transform it, what we call operational mapping. This process is compared to mycelium, as both are complex systems that reveal new possibilities.

In Mycelial Meshworks it is suggested that maps function like mycelia, revealing hidden aspects of reality. In this sense, it explores how different agents (a computer algorithm, humans or OTH life forms) interact with the previously developed base maps, connecting them by means of a reactive mycelial mesh. This allows the study of multi-agent interactions and randomness, opening up new avenues for critical design action through a mycelial approach that promotes visual disorder and plurality.