Color is Alive

“Color is Alive” is the name of my interdisciplinary PhD research conducted within the Microbiology Research Group at VUB (MICR), funded by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO). The project investigates novel coloration techniques for Fungal Engineered Living Materials (ELMs), approaching color not as a static material property but as a dynamic feature intrinsic to the material’s biological activity.

Three strategies are under investigation: dye uptake during material growth, the dye degradation capabilities of white rot fungi as a basis for end-of-life solutions, and self-coloration through pigment-producing fungal species. By introducing color as a dynamic and biologically grounded property, the project aims to contribute to the development of an aesthetic vocabulary for fungal materials, one that may facilitate their broader cultural legibility and societal integration.