Built with mycelium : a comparative review of architectural case studies (2014‒2025)

Berčič, Tomaž (author), Stavrev, Marko (author), Mahovič, Andrej (author)

The paper aims to provide architects, designers and researchers with a grounded reference to inform future applications and experimentation with mycelium in built environments. It presents a structured, comparative review of twenty-four selected and critically chosen architectural-scale projects employing mycelium-based materials, which were realised within the period from 2014 to 2025. While mycelium has been extensively studied in laboratory settings for its ecological benefits, biodegradability, and potential to be used as a regenerative construction material, its hands-on architectural applications remain experimental, fragmented, and inconsistently documented. While the existing literature often emphasises the science of material, speculative designs, or isolated failures, it lacks a comprehensive comparative synthesis of architectural implementations. Furthermore, many reports omit essential technical details, such as fungal strains, substrate compositions, and growth parameters, thereby severely limiting reproducibility, performance evaluation, and meta-analytics approaches. This comparative review addresses the gap by systematically cataloguing built pavilions, installations, and spatial interventions. Projects are evaluated by using consistent criteria, including typology and scale, fabrication methods, structural systems, performance and durability, as well as lifecycle considerations. Both successful and unsuccessful cases were included to reveal the recurring design strategies, key challenges and innovation trajectories that have so far shaped the evolution of myco architecture. By identifying patterns and documenting experiential insights, this review provides a field guide for those architects, designers, and researchers who are interested in applying mycelium in built environments. It aims to support future experimentation and help establish a more rigorous foundation for the continued development of mycelium-based architectural practices.

• Language: English
• Keywords: architecture, mycelium, mycelium-based components, bio-based materials, fungal biomaterials, mycelium architecture, circular construction
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.02 - Review Article
• Organization: FA - Faculty of Architecture
• Publication status: Published
• Publication date: 01.04.2026
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: 56 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 123, [article no.] 115686
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-180797
• UDC: 72:502.131.1
• ISSN on article: 2352-7102
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jobe.2026.115686
• COBISS.SI-ID: 271002371
• Publication date in RUL: 16.03.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Journal of building engineering
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 2352-7102
• COBISS.SI-ID: 525380633

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: arhitektura, micelij, komponente na osnovi micelija, bio-osnovani materiali, glivni biomateriali, micelijska arhitektura, krožna arhitektura, trajnostna arhitektura

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P5-0068-2018
• Name: Trajnostno oblikovanje kvalitetnega bivalnega okolja