The Hub of Biofacture

Treherbert which was known to be a coal mining town has faced many problems related to the community, growth of the town and loss of landscape. The project aims to achieve a circular economy by addressing the needs of the town and community.

By creating a circular economic town, the hub will focus on the growth of the town and the community by providing jobs, promoting local skills, improving biodiversity, promoting climate change, creating renewable energy and producing end of life materials.

By studying the interconnection between trees, it was found that the trees depend on mycelium which are fungal thread like structures whose fruiting body is mushroom. It dominates the entire woodland. Therefore further research was carried out to understand how the mycelium can be beneficial to the community .It was found that mycelium can be used to produce many sustainable products like construction materials, furniture, leather etc. It was decided to produce mycelium insulation which would accompany the local wood in town. Mycelium insulation production will be accompanied by wood production in the hub which will lead to the development of the town. Moreover, the materials produced, can be recycled after end of life which is further processed creating a circular economy.

The hub through the production of insulation and wood creates a developed town which will not limit to benefitting the town but also the larger areas of the valley.