Mycelium Opera is a transdisciplinary research and performance initiative situated at the intersection of biotechnology, design computation, and sustainable scenography. Originating from a partnership between Technische Universität Berlin, Universität der Künste Berlin, and the Neuköllner Oper, the project unfolds as a material, spatial, and political investigation into how fungi can reimagine the conditions for inhabiting performance spaces and future architectures.

A Living Stage: Gegengift and the Material Turn

The focal point of this exploration is Gegengift (April–May 2024), a fully compostable and biodegradable stage set made of mycelium, premiered at the Neuköllner Oper. Engineered and cultivated through three stages of fungal growth, the panels are produced from agricultural waste—hemp shives, straw, sawdust—and inoculated with mycelial cultures under carefully designed conditions. The result is a lightweight, CO₂-storing, and fully biodegradable material capable of replacing traditional, wasteful scenographic supports.

“[...] Mushroom mycelium is ideal as a building material: CO₂ can be stored during its production. It is reusable, but can also be biodegraded. Mycelium-forming fungi thus offer a promising solution for a sustainable art industry.”
— Prof. Dr.-Ing. Vera Meyer

Developed with the Mitkunstzentrale, the project involved over 50 collaborators, including scientists, artists, and students from the MSc Biotechnology and the MA Design & Computation programs. Six Design & Computation students in particular focused on AI-driven algorithmic strategies to enable future robotic fabrication of mycelium structures, bridging speculative design and technical feasibility.

After the performance, the set components return to the soil: they are composted at Berlin’s Prinzessinnengärten, embodying a literal return to the earth and a circular design principle in action.

From Stage to Structure: MY-CO-X and the Biotechnological Imagination

Mycelium Opera is part of a larger ecosystem of fungal research led by the MY-CO-X collective, co-founded by Vera Meyer and Sven Pfeiffer. The collective operates at the edge of scientific and artistic knowledge production, proposing fungi as co-agents in both architectural and performative space-making. Projects such as MY-CO SPACE and MY-CO BUILD investigate architectural prototypes where fungal biocomposites, computational design, and open citizen science converge.

“The urgency of the planetary situation requires the convergence of science, art, and society to imagine new models of co-habitation.”— Engage with Fungi (Berlin Universities Publishing, 2022)

These endeavors frame fungi not simply as building materials, but as epistemological and ecological allies. As described in Engage with Fungi, the mycelium is not only the material but also the model for interconnection: a metaphor for distributed intelligence, collective resilience, and non-linear temporality.

Teaching, Learning, Growing

At the heart of Mycelium Opera lies a strong pedagogical dimension. The involvement of students—particularly from the Design and Computation master’s program—goes beyond participation, positioning them as researchers and co-authors of a new paradigm in performance ecology and computational materiality. Their work with algorithmic processes, sustainability metrics, and collaborative prototyping reflects a broader institutional commitment to transdisciplinary education and open design futures.

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