Integrating smell in teaching Universal Design

Universal Design aims to create supportive environments that are usable by all people. Smells are fundamental in our experience of our surroundings and affect us on both a psychological and physiological level. They can confirm a desired atmosphere, be attractive, constitute a barrier, assist wayfinding, and help us connect place with emotion and remembrance. Yet smell has seldom received proper attention in architectural design. Based on literature and a teaching example, this paper describes and discusses integrating smell in teaching Universal Design. It concludes that working with smell in architectural fields has great potential in supporting learning and strengthening design but also presents challenges.