Tobias Revell: Power Generating Mushrooms in Mumbai

It took me a while to realize that this story of oversized mushrooms in Mumbai isn’t a reality. Yet. But it’s a fascinating look at the possible future of bio-engineering for the megacities that dot the earth. A 9-minute “documentary” was made that explains the story in detail.


‘New Mumbai’ by Tobias Revell

Via DesignBoom:
Tobias Revell
, a British interaction designer, has documented the Dharavi slums of Mumbai, India, showcasing how genetically modified mushrooms have revitalized the poverty stricken city in the ‘New Mumbai’ of the future. Originally from Amsterdam, highly experimental biotechnological samples had been stolen from a dutch lab, where the fungi had been re-engineered to exponentially grow in size for use as narcotics and to create a micro-economy based off the material. As the new plant became introduced into the overpopulated but highly educated urban mass of the slums, the locals began to use it to their advantage – to both exercise freedom from the state and to provide suitable living conditions. today, the mushroom is used to harvest energy as well as provide providing heat, light and building material for the residents of the slums of Dharavi.


Harvesting of the mushroom on city buildings


harvesting energy from the mushroom on top of a building

New Mumbai from Tobias Revell on Vimeo.


Discover more from Moss and Fog

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Author

Ben VanderVeen is the founder and editor of Moss & Fog, one of the web’s longest-running visual culture destinations. Since 2009, he’s been finding and framing the most beautiful, surprising, and thought-provoking work in art, architecture, design, and nature — reaching over 325,000 readers each month. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

What's your take?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discover more from Moss and Fog

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading