PROCESSO E FUNGHI – THE GARDEN LAB

Processo e Funghi – The Garden Lab

April 7 – 13, 2025
At BASE Milano – Via Bergognone 34

An installation by the Paris-based studio Aléa Work in collaboration with Domaine de Boisbuchet and BASE Milano, and supported by the Institut Français.

The Garden Lab by Domaine de Boisbuchet and Aléa Work is a research initiative for experimentation and collaboration in bio-inclusive design. Myco-fabrication – a process using mycelium to bind waste into materials – relies on sterile, controlled environments. Aléa’s Back to Dirt method expands on this norm by cultivating mycelium directly in soil, bypassing sterilisation, energy use, synthetic molds, and leveraging its ability to regenerate ecosystems.

By embracing the unpredictability of non-sterile environments, this approach shifts design from control to co-authorship with living systems. At Base Milano, The Garden Lab invites visitors to contribute waste and thoughts – questions, ideas, and materials—which will be “fed” as substrate to the mycelium, growing into a collective piece.

Domaine de Boisbuchet

Founded in 1986, Domaine de Boisbuchet is an international research center for design and architecture. The campus is surrounded by 150 hectares of protected nature in southwest France and comprises an architectural park of historic and contemporary buildings. Boisbuchet’s workshops, exhibitions, and events as well as a design collection and library serve professional guests and visitors from the neighboring and global community alike.

Aléa Work

Aléa Work is a Paris-based experimental design and material research studio co-founded in 2021 by Stella Lee Prowse and Miriam Josi.
Aléa’s work explores growth, decay and waste, with the goal to develop regenerative methods of fabrication while honoring beauty in the process. Situated at the intersections of design, art, biology, and agriculture, their practice blurs the boundaries between disciplines.

Boisbuchet alumni or friends in Milan? Let’s reconnect! Join us on Wednesday, April 9, at 18:00 at BASE Milano (Via Bergognone 34), then head to the cocktail hosted by the Institut Français de Milan (Corso Magenta 63, 19:00–21:00).
RSVP for the cocktail hosted by the Institut Français here