One often underestimated aspect of Singapore’s tropical climate is how it enhances and amplifies the daily scents that define our experience of places, both familiar and new.
An Ode to Smell is part of an ongoing research project exploring Singapore’s dynamic relationship with its weather—particularly how heat, rain, and humidity shape our sensory perception of the environment. The project prioritizes olfactory experiences, emphasizing the scent memories associated with different spaces.
The team collected materials from eight locations across the island, extracting their scents using various methods. Visitors can explore these scents by scanning QR codes on the bottles and even send postcards featuring selected scents to friends. The project highlights the deeply personal nature of scent perception and the ways these experiences can be shared.
An Ode to Smell is a collaboration between Hyphen Architects, Brian Khoo Zonghan, and Mary Ann Ng.
- Hyphen Architects is a Singapore-based design practice that explores architecture, art, technology, history, and critical theory. Their work operates at the intersection of disciplines, envisioning new realities through a lens of optimism.
- Brian Khoo Zonghan holds a Master of Architecture from the National University of Singapore and is an assistant architect at a Singaporean firm. His interests lie in the phenomenological impact of architecture, atmosphere, and objects on everyday interactions, extending into exhibition design, publications, and ceramics.
- Mary Ann Ng, also a Master of Architecture graduate from the National University of Singapore, is a research assistant at the university. Her work focuses on contemporary individuals, emergent lifestyles, and evolving social behaviors—both online and offline—within spatial contexts.
