Walls Of Public Life / Anomalia Studio LLP

Architects: Anomalia Studio LLP
Year: 2025
Photography: Kang Keon, Depth Studio
Design Team: Bhakti V Loonawat, Suyash Sawant
Research and Production: MYCL
Research and Production Team: Robbi Zidna Ilman, Ronaldiaz Hartantyo, Rizqi Paradila Akbarianti, M Yusuf Nurhadi
Supporters: Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG), P4G
Materials: MycoBlox, Biobo panels, mycelium bio-composites, agricultural byproducts
City: Seoul
Country: South Korea

The Walls of Public Life, developed by Anomalia for the 5th Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2025, reimagines the architectural facade through the lens of regenerative material innovation. Installed as part of the Biennale’s inaugural outdoor exhibition, Walls of Public Life, the project proposes an alternative future in which construction elements are cultivated rather than manufactured. Fabricated entirely from mycelium-based bio-composites, the installation demonstrates the structural and ecological potential of mushroom-root materials combined with agricultural waste. Designed in Mumbai, produced in Bandung in collaboration with MYCL Indonesia, and assembled in Seoul, the wall reflects a transnational exploration of sustainable building systems. Its porous, tactile surface invites public interaction while challenging conventional notions of the facade as a static barrier. Through this speculative yet technically grounded intervention, Anomalia contributes to ongoing conversations around low-impact construction, circular material economies, and bio-intelligent architectural systems that align environmental performance with sensory engagement.

Walls of Public Life was the first time we tested our mycelium composite blocks outdoors, in real public conditions, through heavy rain, storms, humidity, and constant human interaction. Until then, a lot of our work with mycelium had existed between research, prototypes, and controlled exhibition environments. Seoul Biennale made us believe that this material system could move beyond experimentation and begin to scale globally.
Interview with Bhakti V Loonawat and Suyash Sawant of Anomalia Studio LLP

At the center of Songhyeon Green Plaza, Anomalia’s installation offers a deliberate counterpoint to the increasingly sealed and inert surfaces that characterize much of contemporary urban architecture. Rather than presenting the wall as an object of separation, the project frames it as an interface of exchange, where permeability becomes both a material and conceptual proposition. Positioned within Thomas Heatherwick’s curatorial framework for the Seoul Biennale, the structure explores how public-facing architecture might foster openness rather than enclosure.

The installation is constructed entirely from MycoBlox and Biobo panels, modular units formed from mycelium and agricultural byproducts through a low-energy cultivation process. As fungal networks grow through the organic substrate, they naturally bind the material into lightweight yet highly durable components. Once dried and stabilized, these blocks achieve notable compressive performance while remaining fully biodegradable and carbon negative. Each unit gives new life to discarded crop waste, transforming agricultural residue into a high-performance architectural resource.

This process of growth-based fabrication presents a meaningful departure from extractive industrial construction methods. Rather than relying on energy-intensive manufacturing, the wall demonstrates how architectural systems can emerge through biological collaboration. The project treats material development not as an isolated technical experiment but as a redefinition of architectural authorship itself, where design extends into cultivation and ecological stewardship. In doing so, it advances a broader discourse around regenerative design as an operational rather than symbolic framework.

The project’s development unfolded across multiple geographies, underscoring the collaborative nature of contemporary material research. Conceived by Anomalia in Mumbai and produced with MYCL Indonesia in Bandung before final assembly in Seoul, the installation reflects a distributed workflow shaped by interdisciplinary expertise. This transnational production model mirrors the biological systems at the heart of the project, emphasizing networks of exchange, adaptation, and co-dependence across both human and material actors.

Visually and experientially, the wall departs from the polished opacity of conventional facade systems. Its textured openings allow light and air to filter through while encouraging tactile engagement from visitors, transforming the installation into a sensory encounter rather than a purely visual artifact. Through Walls of Public Life, Anomalia articulates a vision of architecture rooted in responsiveness and regeneration, suggesting that future building envelopes may evolve less like manufactured products and more like living systems attuned to environmental and social exchange.