For the 2022 edition of HIX London – an event that brings the international hospitality community together - we designed an experimental installation. Referring to this year's edition's theme, ‘Great things will grow’, we created a bar that would literally grow towards the event while at the same time being an example of what one of these great things might be – mycelium as a design material. The design of the mycelium bar draws inspiration from shapes and textures found in and on shells. It illustrates the infinite source of inspiration nature can be, both aesthetically and structurally. The overall shape of the mycelium bar has a sacral feel to it, almost like a tomb – a metaphor for burying a traditional way of thinking and reflecting on new ideas when designing spaces.

While looking for a collaboration for the production of the bar, we came into contact with La Succulente and French artist Côme Di Meglio. Ruud Belmans, Creative Director at WeWantMore and a product designer by education, wanted to explore the boundaries of what is possible with the material. Mycelium has been used before in product design but creating a large-scale project with it is a unique occurrence.