Inverted Architecture Installation by Studio Link-Arc: Exploring the Intersection of Architecture and Living Organisms

The Inverted Architecture Installation by Studio Link-Arc,showcased at the 2022 Shenzhen Biennale for the exhibition Urban Cosmologies, redefines the boundaries between architecture and nature. Situated in a converted old brewery in Shenzhen, China, this 30 m² installation investigates the complex relationship between living organisms and architectural design. The central theme, More than Human Adventure, reflects an exploration of ecosystems, growth, decay, and symbiosis, positioning architecture as an adaptive, evolving participant in ecological cycles.

The installation adopts an inverted-pyramid form, challenging traditional architectural perspectives and illustrating concepts of duality, man-made versus natural, present versus future, growth versus decay. Within this structure, 400 hanging mycelium bricks form the primary material, embodying innovation, sustainability, and circular design principles. Grown from agricultural waste, including straw, bagasse, and wheat bran, these bricks are renewable, biodegradable, and capable of adapting to the space while offering structural strength and malleability. Over time, the bricks can return to the soil, completing an environmentally responsible lifecycle with no residual ecological burden.

Studio Link-Arc’s approach emphasizes collaboration between architecture and natural systems. The brewery’s gallery spaces, defined by continuous concrete frames, create an indoor-outdoor environment optimized for the mushroom bricks’ moisture absorption. A shallow pool beneath the installation further enhances the microclimate, supporting the material’s growth and maintaining its ecological responsiveness. Some bricks were designed to allow fresh mushroom growth post-assembly, underscoring the installation’s vision as a living, evolving system rather than a static object.

This project reflects a forward-thinking interpretation of architecture as an organism-like entity, responsive to its environment and capable of engaging in ecological processes. The Inverted Architecture Installation not only visualizes the adaptive intelligence of mycelium but also invites audiences to reconsider the future of construction, sustainability, and architectural materiality. By merging design with biological growth, Studio Link-Arc proposes a paradigm where architecture and ecosystems co-create, dissolve boundaries, and celebrate mutual evolution.

All photographs are works of  Yu Bai