In 2014, a group of towers appeared in the courtyard of MoMA PS1 in New York. They were built using around 10,000 bricks grown from agricultural material and mycelium, the network of threads produced by fungi.
The installation, called Hy-Fi, was designed by The Living. It lasted for one exhibition season and was later dismantled. More than a decade on, it remains a useful starting point for a question that sounds improbable at first: can mushrooms in construction move beyond experimental architecture?
Mycelium grows through materials such as straw or sawdust and can bind the pieces together. With controlled growing conditions and a suitable mold, producers can create blocks or panels.
The material is then processed to stop its growth and prepare it for use. Finished products vary widely because their properties depend on the fungus, ingredients and production process.
Using agricultural leftovers as a growing base is one reason designers are testing mycelium. The inputs can be inexpensive, but repeatable growing conditions, drying and finishing require their own production infrastructure.
But a building product must do more than sound environmentally appealing. It has to perform consistently in the conditions where it will be installed.
Hy-Fi was an experiment, not a blueprint for mushroom-built apartment blocks. Its temporary construction helped test what could be done with grown components on a public architectural stage.
Commercial development has since focused on applications that face fewer structural demands. Italian company Mogu, for example, produces acoustic panels using mycelium-based materials and recovered textile residues.
These panels are intended for interiors such as offices and shared spaces where controlling sound is part of the design.
An acoustic panel can be developed around sound absorption, appearance, fire testing and durability. Those are demanding requirements, but they are different from the structural tests required for a load-bearing wall.
Their appearance is part of the appeal. Some panels have soft, organic textures that feel very different from flat plasterboard or polished stone.
For architects and interior designers, that offers a new material language. It can make a wall visually interesting while serving a practical purpose, such as helping absorb sound.
Manufacturers must still demonstrate properties including fire performance, moisture resistance and durability. These cannot be assumed from the fact that a product comes from a natural source.
Growing a small panel under controlled conditions is one thing. Producing thousands of consistent products, transporting them safely and installing them in real buildings is another.
Moisture is a particular concern. Different mycelium products react differently to humidity and water, so testing matters.
There is also the environmental calculation. Growing a component may require relatively modest raw materials, but drying, treatment, packaging and replacement all contribute to its overall impact.
A credible comparison with conventional products should consider their complete life cycles.
The most interesting shift may be conceptual. Construction has traditionally relied on materials that are mined, cut, fired or manufactured. Mycelium introduces a different process: grow the material first, then finish it for its intended purpose.
That does not mean every building will someday be made from mushrooms. Large structural applications still face major engineering challenges.
Yet the development of viable interior products suggests a more realistic route. If a grown material can deliver a useful function with dependable performance and a lower overall impact, it has a place in the conversation.
The next place most architects are likely to encounter mycelium may not be an experimental tower. It may be a wall panel specified in an ordinary office fit-out, selected because its acoustic and fire-test documentation meets the brief.