The architecture of sound: from keratin to acoustic materials

A fibre that nature had already perfected can change the way our spaces sound. At Clic Recycle, we have turned it into an acoustic material.

Noise is designed too

We walk into an office, a restaurant or a classroom and, before noticing the colours or the furniture, we hear it. Reverberation, overlapping conversations and tiring echo are as much a part of architecture as light or materials.

For decades, the usual answer has been the same: mineral wools, foams and panels with binders and adhesives. They work, but they come at a cost to indoor air and to the planet. We asked ourselves whether there was another way, and we found it in a fibre we throw away every day: keratin.

Why keratin absorbs sound

Keratin is a fibrous protein. Its fibres are fine, curly and elastic, and as they interlace they create a network of air-filled micro-cavities.

When a sound wave enters that network, the air vibrates between the fibres and the energy is dissipated by friction. It is the same principle that makes porous and fibrous materials effective: the more labyrinthine the path of the air, the less sound is reflected back into the room.

Nature had already designed this structure to insulate and protect. We have simply learned to organise it. That is why Clic Recycle has patented keratin as an acoustic material (international PCT application WO/2025/093799).

No chemicals: from waste to panel

Our CLIC ARCHI panels combine keratin and plant fibres with industrial hemp. The process is deliberately simple:

• No chemical treatment of the keratin. The fibre is recovered, cleaned and prepared without chemical baths.
• Felted, with no binders or adhesives. The fibres are bonded mechanically, like a traditional felt.
• 100% natural dyes. Natural grey, indigo, red and ochre.

The result is a material that breathes, adds no compounds to indoor air and gives a second life to a waste stream that today ends up in the bin.

Indoors and outdoors, and much more than panels

CLIC ARCHI started as an acoustic panel, but the material goes beyond the wall:

• Indoors: offices, restaurants, classrooms and cultural spaces.
• Outdoors: acoustic solutions for open spaces.
• Coverings for walls and ceilings.
• Furniture and design elements.
• Retail: commercial spaces that want to tell the story of their commitment.

Architects and interior designers work with it as with any noble material: for its texture, its colour and its story.

Measuring air and sound

A good material is not enough if we do not know what is happening in the space. That is why CLIC ARCHI can integrate sensors that measure noise and air quality, such as CO₂.

The data can be viewed in an app, and the traceability of the material is recorded with blockchain technology. This way the client knows where each panel comes from and can check how their space improves over time.

Validated impact

In August 2025, EIT Climate-KIC assessed our panel with its Impact Forecast methodology against a glass wool panel: around 7.2 kg CO₂e less per m², 7.2 t CO₂e avoided per 1,000 m² per year, and a lighter panel (1.7 kg/m² versus 2.08 kg/m²).

On top of this comes the international patent application (PCT WO/2025/093799), which protects the use of keratin as an acoustic material.

Hearing spaces differently

The architecture of the future will not only be seen: it will sound and breathe better. We believe the materials that build it can come from resources we discard today.

If you are an architect or interior designer, or you manage a space and want to try CLIC ARCHI, discover CLIC ARCHI or write to us at info@clicrecycle.com.

Valérie Itey is the founder and CEO of Clic Recycle, a company that transforms recovered keratin into solutions for agriculture, the sea and architecture.