Perfumery Studio + Residence

Alexandria, Virginia

The following is a collection of work based almost entirely on a short narrative written before the semester started. Each drawing and model is an attempt to manifest the life and story of a fictional character--to house him conceptually and physically as well as to address a greater need within society for an architecture that can receive and continue to provide a lifestyle for its inhabitants. 

Chords of Scent | Schematic Design

Alongside the narrative, a schematic design was created based on the chords of scent used to design perfumes. The base note, heart chord, and head chord. 

Head Chord, Perfume Archive 

As stated above, the design process began with the division of floor levels into the chronological order in which scents are experienced. One first perceives the top chord of the scent or head chord. This is the first impression of the scent and is used to provoke the passerby. As a result, the top floor of the building consists of a perfume shop, accessible to the public. This is the most visually compelling from the street. It is the most stereotomic-looking part of the building, yet it is held up by tensile members, which seem to be connected to the neighboring buildings, but follow columns which are received below by the building's foundation. 

Heart Chord, Gallery of Scents

Next, one would experience the middle or heart chord. This is the most prominent and longest lasting olfactory experience. It is also the most memorable. The building at ground level was designed to function similarly. It consists of a long, open air passageway with niche spaces in the walls. There are photographs embedded in the walls, each with a mechanical system behind it which disperses a scent corresponding with the image, providing the passerby with a series of truly immersive experiences as they continue through. 

Base Chord, Laboratory and Residence

The base chord is base solution off of which the perfume is made. It exists as a base from which the fragrance can be built. This precedent is used both figuratively and literally within the building's design. The basement serves as the base of the building, as it provides a foundation structurally for the rest of the building and also contains for the basic needs of the perfumer to live and produce perfume. 

Story of the Perfumer

Tunnel vision is closing in. He has pictures that he goes through every night so he doesn’t forget important things to him like what she looked like, how her dress flowed, and what her hair smelled like. She was branded with the scent of hibiscus, which he remembered every time he saw that picture. He took these photographs earlier in their lives, but as his vision left he began smelling things more intensely; his sense of smell strengthened. He began his career in perfuming somewhat selfishly, trying to create his own way of seeing and documenting through smell so that he wouldn’t forget. As he looked at each picture he breathed in a perfume. The same perfume with the same picture each night. This way, when he was completely blind, he could train his mind to remember, each scent particle rushing to his brain, converting to pigment, and  in some way immersing him in the past in a way that not even a photo could. In breathing in the scents, he enters the world in which he existed. He feels as if he is the first to successfully time travel, except in his case he is not concerned with changing anything, only reliving what has already happened.