PROJECT
 SYNAPSES: Spatial Dialogue



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PROGRAMS
Material Tests

Speculative Installation

Exhibition
FACULTY

School of Architecture
       Victoria University of Wellington

LOCATION
Te Kura Hoahoa—School of Design Innovation, 
Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

139 Vivian Street, Te Aro
Wellington 6011
New Zealand












Spatial Interactive Installation

 Mycelium networks act as a “natural internet,” enabling cross-species communication with humans, plants and non-living entities in the environment through electrical signals.

These inspired the project to use mycelium's biological intelligence to build a spatial system that uses mycelium as a biological sensor to measure and report human and non-human interaction in architectural spaces. Mycelium not only serves as a living material, but also as an interface that can record, translate, and transmit spatial interactions. The installation acts as a physical and conceptual analogue of a distributed neural system, making spatial element interactions visible through performative material behavior and sensor-enhanced feedback. The installation was completed exhibited in The Atrium, Te Kura Waihanga, Te Herenga Waka from June 11 to 15, 2025.




  
 
      






   


       






Mycelium Experiment




TEST I

 MYCELIAL BIO-SENSING
(Can mycelium respond to changes in external environmental conditions?)



TEST II

INTERNAL CONNECTION
(Can mycelium transmit information between other mycelium blocks?)



TEST III

NETWORK COMMUNICATION
(Can mycelium engage in interspecies communication with other living organisms?)5












The bioelectrical capacitance of Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushroom) mycelium is monitored using mycelium network conductivity under various environmental stimuli, including tactile interaction, light intensity, temperature, humidity, and acoustic input. It collects and analyses quantitative data on these responses to empirically validate and critically reflect on the hypothesis that mycelium can function as a spatial nervous system in built environments.

The experimental protocol tracks the correlation between external stimuli and fungal network electrical responses to reveal bioelectric signal transmission pathways in living materials. Mycelium's sensory response and real-time interaction, communication, and adaptive behaviour in space are being studied under controlled conditions.
TEST I
TEST I
TEST I
TEST I
TEST I
TEST I
TEST II
TEST III
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