Artist Phil Ross has discovered and created the world's next building material; fungus that can build furniture and small houses.

Ross has been experimenting with fungus for his art works for a couple of decades. Apart from the length of his usage, the fungus material he concocts is also quite solid.

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To create his building material, Ross introduced mushroom tissue into molds filled with pasteurized sawdust and allowing the fungus to digest the material.

The result is a sturdy material that is sustainable, having no chance of becoming depleted. It's capable of withstanding extreme temperatures and even bullets. When it's no longer needed, it can be used as compost.

Ross has created numerous works with this material -- from side-tables to beach lounge chairs -- that have found their way to museums and galleries around the world.

He only realized the real-world implications of his fungal material when he built a small teahouse from Reishi mushroom bricks at the Kunstshalle Düsseldorf. After guests sat in it, he boiled the mushroom bricks for tea, as well. He saw that it had numerous uses that could help people.

While his mycelial block materials can do a lot as a building material, Ross says there's still a stigma when it comes to fungus. People see fungus in a negative way since they see molds in breads, for example.

Every new technology requires a cultural paradigm shift, however.

One way this shift can take place is by understanding the capabilities of fungus.

Mycologist Paul Stamets says that a vegetative part of a fungus (the fungal mycelium) can spread, disseminate and distribute nutrients across vast distances. Stamets likens it to the structure of the Internet, and even the Universe itself.

TagsPhil Ross, Vice, Motherboard, Fungus, building materials