Building Smurf Houses: will the houses of the future be built from mushrooms?
Writer: Louise Deltheil
Editor: Iris Bisson
Senior Division
In 2022, the construction industry produced 39% of the global carbon emissions (Zhao et al., 2024). In this slice of the pie, production of cement, brick and metal together account for 57%, while the production of glass, plastic barriers, and bio-based materials, along with the use of chemicals in the process, only contribute six percent of the industry’s carbon emissions (Li et al., 2025). Given the construction industry's significant contribution to emissions, reducing its impact would serve as an important part of mitigating the effects of climate change. Decades of research has sought alternative low-carbon materials, such as hempcrete concrete, or older techniques, such as rammed earth. Other ways to reduce the use of non-renewable resources include solar panels, recycled bricks, and wind turbines. But today, innovators are looking to create new construction materials from organic matter. Could mushrooms become part of the future of architecture?
Yeasts, rusts, mildews, molds, and mushrooms are all part of the 144,000 known species of fungi (Moore et al., 2019). Since the beginning of time, fungi have been a center of many human innovations including the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928. To this day, Fungi are used in food processes, such as bread, wine, beer, and cheese. Others are eaten as is, like morels and truffles. Mushrooms are a true wonder of nature, and possess incredible properties that have yet to be fully explored.
Fungus is made of a filament-like body, called mycelium (Schaechter, 2009). It is composed of many branches, known as hyphae, that spread outwards like rays and digest (Schaechter, 2009). The entirety of the mycelium makes up the thallus. To grow, the fungus absorbs nutrients from the outside environment, and at maturity, forms spores, the fungus’ reproductive cells. These cells are released and develop more hyphae, which becomes the mycelium of the new mushroom (Moore et al., 2019). The mycelium shares similar properties with construction materials seen in the industry today, making it one of the best candidates for an innovative bio-based material. Like many other materials, mycelium is fire and water-resistant (Nasir 2024). Most importantly, it possesses incredible thermal and acoustic insulation properties and is biodegradable, making it an ideal component for a wall, roof, and floor (Nasir 2024).
Polymers, natural and synthetic substances that are composed of unified large molecules which are made up of smaller chemical units, are one of the most polluting architectural materials but they are present in everything, from paints and adhesives to insulation and roofing (Britannica 2024). Its popularity is due to its lightweight, versatile, impermeable and durable properties. Today, most polymers are synthetic. The most popular one stems from petroleum, which renders it so durable that the material will stay in the landfill long after the destruction of a building. However, polymers were first found in natural ecosystems. Fungi are one of the most prolific and ancient polymers found in nature (McGaw et al., 2022). Through research, scientists have discovered that mycelium is also lightweight, strong, versatile, and a good insulator. Mycelium also has the additional ability to grow in the dark, and to collect nutrients themselves, through “the production of oxalic acids that have the strength to decompose rock, and peroxidase enzymes that break hydrocarbon bonds in complex carbohydrates such as lignin and turn them into simple sugars” (McGaw et al., 2022). So not only are mycelium a natural polymer, but they also reduce the industrial waste by using waste such as husks, sawdust, woodchip, and even coffee grounds to grow quickly.
Mycelium’s unique physical properties make it one of the most promising materials for the sustainable future of the construction industry. Researchers have already started studies to explore how mycelium can be implemented in architecture, and some engineers and architects are taking these findings to create simple yet intricate sustainable designs.
Arup Group Limited, a British engineering and design firm, in partnership with Italian bio design company Mogu, created a sound absorbing panel system made from mycelium (ARUP, 2025). Only the mycelium and its hyphae grows on the panel due to moisture and nutrients, with no spores, which makes it safe to use as there is no risk of released spores in the air and the consequent respiratory issues (McGaw et al., 2022). The panels are then dried to stop the growing process and create a fully compostable, robust material. Finally, the panels are installed on a wooden frame system, also easy to reuse (ARUP, 2025). Although Arup and Mogu’s invention may appear small compared to entire buildings, any innovation that focuses on reducing the impact of climate change is positive.
Typical insulation, such as HFC spray foam or mineral wool board, have an embodied carbon ranging from 7.97 to 11.07 kg CO2e, and is often composed of materials that are difficult or impossible to recycle (Insulation institute, 2024). On average, interior finishes, such as panels, gypsum boards, or paint, need to be updated at least every five years, contributing largely to landfills (ARUP, 2025). Using bio-based materials, such as mycelium, reduces carbon emissions and landfill waste. Surprisingly, mycelium panels also act as CO2 reservoirs, creating a nice fresh indoor environment by filtering the carbon pool that occurs during office meetings. The company Arup liked their invention so much that they used the panels in their new office in Warsaw, Poland, to help their company achieve its sustainability goals (ARUP, 2024).
Following the creation of small projects using mycelium, research firms such as AFJD Studio and PLP Labs, have explored how mycelium could be used in a building as a structural material. PLP Labs, in collaboration with PLP Architecture and others, studied the reaction of mycelium when mixed with other organic materials, such as wooden dowels and muslin cloth. They then discovered that mycelium could be successfully combined with 3D printed wood frames to create more complex shapes (PLP Architecture | Place, Behaviour, Lasting Value, 2025). These innovations led to the creation of unique vases and other artworks, along with the exploration of mycelium bricks. Although some combinations are promising, the team has not found a perfect solution yet (Chaudhary et al., 2025). As the report was published in 2025, the study continues to progress and will hopefully create mycelium-based construction materials in the near future.
On the other hand, AFJD studio developed a way to combine mycelium and cellulosic wood waste to create a self-sustaining wall (Frid-Jimenez, 2016). The mycelium continues to grow as it feeds itself on the wood dust, which lets it connect the individual blocks together, without adding any type of adhesives. As a surprising side effect, the edible oyster mushrooms that grew out of the spores never stopped growing! Expanding on this unintended consequence, the studio would be able to create a self-sustainable, biodegradable wall, which could also provide sustenance to inhabitants. According to the University of British Columbia, one of the key goals of this trial was to create a material which would be sturdy enough to function as a construction material while also maintaining its ability to decay quickly when needed (Mycelium Mockup | SALA, 2023).
In the past century, the building turnover, meaning the rate of building demolition and construction, has only accelerated, which means that construction materials in landfills have increased as society demolishes buildings faster. By using a mycelium-based material, the amount of construction waste in landfills could be reduced. This is an exciting result. However, it is still not clear how much energy and water it takes to industrially produce mycelium-based construction materials. In the long term, making buildings that last only a decade or two are not sustainable no matter the kind of materials used.
A study led by a team of professors from the University of Ljubljana compared twenty-four Mycelium projects from 2014 to 2025 to see in what direction the industry looks to explore the material. Most of these projects turned out to be for temporary pavilions, as mycelium is still not designed for years-long lifespan. The study found that the type of mycelium used was of particular importance. Not all fungi have the same physical properties, which leads to different reactions in the mycelium compositions. Additionally, structure presented an issue. Mycelium has a lateral stiffness that prevents building pavilions higher than thirteen meters. When used structurally, mycelium always has to be combined with another material, often timber or steel frames, as the material has proven unable to take on significant loads (Berčič et al., 2026). While other studies have seemed promising, it has become clearer that mycelium does have constraints that the industry has not surpassed yet.
“Architecture cannot afford to react to change. It must anticipate it. Through applied research and experimentation, we ensure innovation strengthens performance rather than disrupts it” (PLP Architecture | Place, Behaviour, Lasting Value, 2025). This quote found on the PLP Labs website summarizes perfectly the situation that the construction industry has found itself in. Due to human actions worsening climate change, livable conditions are becoming increasingly harsher (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2025). Our buildings require better insulation to protect from both the heat and the cold. Unfortunately, most of these upgrades only occur after the demolition of buildings. Furthermore new buildings often have a shorter lifespan compared to older constructions, which has proportionally increased the amount of construction waste in landfills.
The creation of new, bio-based materials is crucial to push the construction industry into the future. As of now, mycelium is not ready for a mass market, but after only two decades of research it is already showing much promise. Next steps include exploring how mycelium could become a long-term material, useful for more than temporary pavilions. Being able to construct structural pieces using mycelium would also be greatly helpful to the industry. Every researcher, engineer, and architect mentioned in this article has proven that mushrooms can and should be part of architecture’s sustainable future.
Bibliography
ARUP (2024). Designing Arup’s Warsaw office.
ARUP (2025). Foresta. https://www.arup.com/projects/foresta/.
Berčič, T., Marko, S., & Mahovič, A. (2026). Built with mycelium: A comparative review of architectural case studies (2014‒2025). Journal of Building Engineering, 123, 115686. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2026.115686. Britannica. (2024). Polymers. https://www.britannica.com/science/polymer.
Chaudhary, A., Willits, S., Polisano, M., Andersson, J., Sembi, H.,
Bakker, R., & Shah, D. U. (2025). Symbiocene demonstrator: Mycelium bio-composites in architectural design. Structures and Architecture, 330–337. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003658641-40.
Frid-Jimenez, A. (2016). AFJD: Design studio for Amber Frid-Jimenez & Joe Dahmen. Afjdstudio.Net. https://afjdstudio.net/.
Insulation Institute (October 2024). Setting the Record Straight: Insulation and Low Carbon Buildings. https://insulationinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/N170-Insulation-Low-Carbon-Buildings-1024.pdf.
Li, C., Pradhan, P., Chen, G., Kropp, J. P., & Schellnhuber, H. J. (2025). Carbon footprint of the construction sector is projected to double by 2050 globally. Communications Earth & Environment, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02840-x.
McGaw, J., Andrianopoulos, A., & Liuti, A. (2022). Tangled Tales of Mycelium and Architecture: Learning From Failure. Frontiers in Built Environment, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2022.805292.
Moore, D., Ahmadjian, V., & Alexopoulos, C. J. (2019). Fungus. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/fungus.
Nasir, Osama. (2024, July 2). From Fungi to Foundations: Mycelium in Construction. Parametric Architecture - Architecture News and Computational Design. https://parametric-architecture.com/from-fungi-to-foundations-mycelium-in-construction/.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2025, June 13). Climate Change Impacts. NOAA. https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/climate/climate-change-impacts
PLP Architecture | Place, Behaviour, Lasting Value. (2025).
SALA. (2023, May 2). Mycelium Mockup | SALA.
Schaechter, M. (2009). Encyclopedia of microbiology. Elsevier, Cop.
Zhao, Y., Li, C. Z., Shen, G. Q., Teng, Y., Wu, H., & Liu, R. (2024). Managing carbon emissions in construction: Current status and emerging trends. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 211, 115237–115237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2024.115237.
Comments