Metropolis Digital Optimism Talks logo

Join us every second Tuesday of the month for a dose of optimism with thought-provoking guests who are revolutionizing their fields. Innovators will lead virtual workshops for an hour of discovery, inspiration, and community. Led by editor in chief, Avinash Rajagopal, these workshops will be guided by our audience, where questions are not only welcome but encouraged.

Register Now
natural habitat cold spring home exterior

Metropolis Editors, Natural Habitat, sustainability, sustainable architecture

METROPOLIS Introduces Natural Habitat, a Sustainable Homes Video Series

The series debuts with a tour of a tranquil upstate New York retreat designed with Passive House principles.

Read more
a glass vase on a lavender background
COURTESY AKIHIRO YOSHIDA

January 27, 2022

An Exhibition Explores the Intersection of Scent and Design

After years of research into the design of the five senses, Elisabetta Pisu and  Clara Muller  have curated Living with Scents at San Francisco’s Museum of Craft and Design.

By: Jaxson Stone

“Through the olfactory sense, we can interpret and learn about the world, fixing in our memory places [we’ve been] and the emotions we’ve lived,” says Elisabetta Pisu, design curator, founder, and project manager of EP Studio. While ephemeral, scents can dramatically shape the way humans live in and experience the built environment. “For this reason, ambient scent has become very important and constitutes an integral part of the research planning for many designers.” 

After years of research into the “design of the five senses,” Pisu and olfaction scholar Clara Muller have curated Living with Scents, a new exhibition at San Francisco’s Museum of Craft and Design. Featuring the work of more than 40 international artists and designers, the exhibition examines the neurobiological, historical, social, and aesthetic implications of smell through objects. Works on view include a coffeepot 3D-printed from coffee grounds, a clock that releases a different essence every hour, and jewelry that provides a solution for those allergic to perfume. 

an orange scent diffuser on a peach background
TEMPLE ROOM DIFFUSER In 2018, Italian designer Sara Ricciardi created a collection of room diffusers inspired by the architecture of Greek and Roman temples for the fragrance brand CULTI Milano. Designed to resemble a Doric column, each device features borosilicate glass tubes that contain the fragrance and curved rattan sticks that diffuse the liquids. Ricciardi is one of more than 40 designers whose olfactory objects are on view in the exhibition Living with Scents, at San Francisco’s Museum of Craft and Design. COURTESY SARA RICCIARDI
a selection of 3D-printed ceramic diffusers
In 2013, Antwerp, Belgium–based product design studio Unfold developed The Peddler for perfumer Barnab Fillion (above). The series of three 3D-printed ceramic diffusers and receptacles were designed to resemble alchemical tools and utensils. Tokyo-based studio Nendo designed Scent, a series of glass vases (top) in 2020, crafted to exude the aroma of flowers or fruit. COURTESY MARIE TAILLEFER

Would you like to comment on this article? Send your thoughts to: [email protected]

Latest

  • Curved metal-roofed modern buildings surrounded by trees, with people walking on stone paths in a suburban neighborhood—a peaceful setting reminiscent of a thoughtfully designed Camp for the Blind.

    Projects

    In North Carolina, an iconic park completes a community.  

    In North Carolina’s fast-growing Research Triangle, Machado Silvetti and OJB transform seven acres into a civic landscape that doubles as public infrastructure, cultural hub, and long-awaited town center.

  • Two people sit and talk at an outdoor table in a courtyard, with trees, shrubs, and a brick building in the background.

    Products

    16 New Releases Doing More by Design

    From tactile surfaces to reworked natural references and systems, these products foreground durability, flexibility, and sensory experience.

  • A large waterfront power plant with three tall chimneys and a rectangular base stands against the cityscape and hills under a cloudy sky, setting an industrial scene reminiscent of installations showcased at 3daysofdesign.

    Viewpoints

    UIA 2026: No Easy Answers in Barcelona

    Rather than offering a unified vision for architecture’s future, the 2026 UIA World Congress embraced contradiction, bringing together diverse voices to debate ecology, technology, craft, and the social role of design.