Can mushroom bricks replace concrete?

Are mushroom bricks the future of construction? They are certainly viable at the present with houses and art installations being constructed.

What is a mushroom brick, you ask? It’s a brick made of mushrooms, of course! But, unlike the simplicity of the name, it’s so much more than just alternative building material which has a “greener” carbon footprint. Mushroom bricks are similar to bricks made using hemp and straw. These might not sound like the tough building material that we know as concrete, but they can be used to make houses, not skyscrapers.

Unlike crowded cities in India like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and similar metropolitan cities, most cities abroad have the city centre or the business hubs with skyscrapers and huge office complexes, but suburbs rarely have even a three-storied house. Individual houses made with wood are still the norm in the USA, even today. So, why build such houses with concrete when a nature-friendly material can do the trick?

Mushroom bricks were developed to serve exactly this purpose. Mushroom brick houses have stated coming up in UK and they are not only challenging the norm when it comes to building materials but also taking on conventional designs. And before you think that mushroom bricks are just mushrooms pressed together into the form of a brick using traditional brick-making technique, think again! These are bio-engineered bricks made from mushrooms using a hybrid structure.

Times Now News