Fika Mycelium Tiles — Grown, Not Manufactured

There is a quiet revolution happening in sustainable building materials, and it starts not in a factory but in a growing room. Fika's mycelium acoustic tiles are produced using the root structure of fungi — mycelium — bound together with agricultural waste to create panels that are genuinely carbon negative across their lifecycle. These are not tiles with a sustainability story bolted on as an afterthought. The material itself is the story.

Last updated: April 2026 · Reading time: 2 min

How Are Mycelium Acoustic Tiles Manufactured?

Mycelium is the dense, thread-like network that forms the root system of fungi. In controlled growing conditions, it can be guided to colonise and bind agricultural by-products — hemp hurd, corn stalks, oat husks — into almost any shape within a mould. The process takes between five and seven days. Once the desired density and form is achieved, the growth is halted by low-heat drying, which also sterilises the material and sets its final structure. No synthetic binders are used. No petrochemical resins. The result is a rigid, lightweight panel with a naturally textured surface.

The carbon picture is compelling. Mycelium actively sequesters carbon during growth, and because the feedstock is agricultural waste that would otherwise decompose and release CO2, the net lifecycle impact is negative. At end of life, the tiles are fully compostable — they return to the soil rather than ending up in landfill. Through our classroom design service, we help schools transform their spaces.

What Acoustic Performance Do Mycelium Tiles Deliver?

Beyond their environmental credentials, Fika's tiles perform rigorously as acoustic products. Independent testing places them at an NRC (Noise Reduction Coefficient) rating of between 0.75 and 0.90 depending on thickness, putting them in the same bracket as mid-to-high performance mineral fibre panels. They are particularly effective at absorbing mid-range frequencies — the range most associated with speech intelligibility and cognitive fatigue in open-plan environments.

Aesthetically, the tiles carry the organic texture of their growing process: a fine, fibrous surface with subtle natural variation across each panel. They are available in a curated palette of earth tones — undyed natural, charcoal, warm ochre, and deep moss — and can be produced in bespoke shapes and profiles for larger architectural installations. No two batches are identical, which gives installations a depth that manufactured products rarely achieve.

Installation follows standard acoustic tile methods:

• Direct adhesive fix to plasterboard or masonry
• Suspended within standard aluminium grid ceiling systems
• Mounted on timber battens for feature wall applications
• Freestanding panel configurations for flexible zoning

The tiles are moisture-resistant to normal interior humidity levels and have passed Class B fire performance testing to EN 13501-1, making them suitable for commercial, education, and hospitality environments. For projects pursuing BREEAM Excellent ratings or WELL Building Standard certification, the carbon-negative material credentials and VOC-free composition contribute meaningfully to scoring across multiple categories.

In a market where the word "sustainable" is applied to almost everything regardless of evidence, Fika's mycelium tiles represent something genuinely different — a product where the manufacturing method is itself the environmental intervention, not a compromise made alongside it.