Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)
As winter begins in Gaza’s tent cities, emergency housing made from mushrooms could keep out the cold.
The structures are lightweight, warm and flexible. They are a good change from the weak shelters now housing Gazans displaced by the war, according to Dima Al Srouri, a member of the ReRoot initiative.
Mycelium is the root-like part of a fungus. It can be grown along with organic matter to fit different-shaped moulds. It produces a strong building material that can be made anywhere.
ReRoot’s emergency housing was not the only example of sustainable Arab design at an expo in Dubai. For example, Emirati architect and designer Abdalla Almulla is promoting low-rise buildings made from recycled construction waste.
Almulla is working with Swiss company Oxara, which makes a low-carbon cement replacement. They will create structures built with discarded concrete from buildings.
Answer: It is the root-like part of a fungus, like a mushroom.
