olfactory architecture

source:wallpapercom
While architects are generally in the visual business, Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s design for a new show at the Museum of Arts & Design privileges a less tangible sense — smell.

’The Art of Scent 1889 – 2012’ is an exhibition dedicated to perfumes that represent an aesthetic or innovatory leap forward for the art form — ranging from the Victorian-era ’Jicky’ (Aimé Guerlain) to the smoky, metallic and compelling ’Untitled’ by contemporary perfumer Daniela Andrier.

’It was an exercise in self-restraint,’ says principal Elizabeth Diller, who worked on the project with the curator of MAD’s new Centre for Olfactory Art, the former New York Times scent critic, Chandler Burr. ’How to make nothing, but make it beautiful.’

DS+R has a history of experimental projects; Diller previously worked on the Blur Building — a temporary pavilion made of fog designed for the 2002 Swiss Expo. The other challenge, says DS+R project leader Ilana Altman, lay in exhibiting intangible art in a museum context.

“We were interested in the convention of a white wall. The technical challenge was to figure out how to make it atmospheric, and how the surface could give a holistic display but still appear to be empty.”

Twelve identical dimples set seamlessly into the walls have space for one visitor’s head, which triggers the release of a dry version of each perfume, dispensed by hidden, high-spec technology so far only found at trade shows.

In the adjacent ’salon’ a glass table holds the same perfumes in liquid form, into which visitors dip blotters and then add their ’smelling notes’ to the online database projected onto a nearby wall to build up a vocabulary of scent criticism.

’Tresor’, the 13th scent, has been broken down into its five constituent stages to reveal its design process, each version delivered automatically on a card with a peel and sniff panel through slots in the wall similar to a car park ticket machine.

Each perfume is exhibited without packaging, and is attributed to the perfumer (rather than the brand) through small pieces of projected text that fades on and off. ’The visual sense is dialled down,’ says Diller. ’We considered audio, but decided it would just be a distraction.’
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source: archinect

Diller Scofidio + Renfro is a New York City based architectural firm founded by Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio. They are particularly well known for their interdisciplinary approach to architecture. Their influence stems as much, if not more, from their contributions to the theory and criticism of architecture as from their built works. These are sometimes in the form of written work, but more often are in the form of installation art, video art or electronic art.
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source: ballet-de-marseille

Diller + Scofidio est une agence d’architecture américaine fondée en 1979 par Elizabeth Diller et Ricardo Scofidio, et basée à Manhattan. Diller et Scofidio sont avant tout des architectes dont la vision dépasse les limites de leur métier. Leur parcours comprend des installations et performances utilisant toutes formes d’arts, et des collaborations avec tout une série d’artistes allant des arts plastiques aux arts de la scène.

Collaborateur depuis 1997, Charles Renfro devient en 2004 associé de l’agence, se renommant à l’occasion Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

Elizabeth Diller et Ricardo Scofidio ont été les premiers architectes a remporter le prix MacArthur (MacArthur Prize, parfois appelé “genius grant”).

Principales réalisations : outre la construction de bâtiments importants comme l’ICA à Boston (Institut d’Arts contemporains), le Musée d’Art et Technologie à New-York ou le Moscone Convention Center à San-Francisco … Diller+Scofidio ont aussi fait beaucoup parler d’eux pour leur réalisation d’installations comme le “Blur Building”, cet immense nuage surplombant le Lac de Neuchâtel créé pour l’Expo02 (CH), “Facsimile”, installation media permanente au Moscone Convention Center de San-Francisco ou “Travelogues”, oeuvre d’art exposée dans le terminal des arrivées internationales de l’aéroport de Istanbul. Ils viennent tout récemment de rénover le “Lincoln Center” et de réhabiliter la “High Line” (voie de chemin de fer aérien) en parc public à New York.