Architecture: scent olfaction discovery

We all live in a hyper-visual world and so is architecture. Architecture is essentially visual, it is in a form of art that we see, and if we enter it and move within the spaces that constitute it, we then experience it. Books and architectural reviews are filled with drawings and photos, while the other senses, were neglected nor evoked.

Whether natural, related to the local flora and fauna, or artificial, in the sense of revealing the presence and activities of man, odour constitutes and essential component of the character of a place. There really are smellscapes. Korea smells of Kimchi, Dakar smells of dried fish: for natives or frequent visitors, this guarantees and emotional response of the “Proustian experience” variety; for newcomers, it results in a more or less pleasant shock because of its unfamiliarity. Almost everything still remains to be understood in this area.

This project attempts to capture the characteristic of smell and at the same time, approach smell from a different perspective. Smell does not hold a fixed form nor does it draw a clear boundary of itself; instead, they are carried by the wind, disperse continuously, mixing up with other odour and seeps through any gaps. The façade flutters in the breeze, it gives the building an undefined form, imitating the form of a smoke cloud. Smoke and mist are used as a medium which turns the invisible[smell], visible, yet unable to be grasp but detected by the olfaction. The richness of human olfactory experience, can connect us emotionally with our cities, giving it a ‘Scents of Place’.