Indoor smellscape interventions and designers’ intended impacts on building occupants: an exploratory review of project descriptions

Existing standards and academic research offer no guidance for intentional olfactory design. This gap is relevant because, although many indoor smells are shaped by occupants, the baseline olfactory conditions of a space can still be intentionally designed through architectural choices. This study reviews 123 project descriptions to identify olfactory design strategies and the impacts that designers expect these interventions to have on building occupants. Smellscape interventions primarily appear in residential settings (43%) and fall into six categories: scented materials, ventilation strategies, green elements, spatial connection, scented devices, and fireplaces and burning stoves. The expected impacts described in the project narratives relate to affective, perceptual, cognitive, physiological, time-related, and space-related dimensions. This study emphasises the need for a catalogue of indoor smellscape interventions and for scientific evidence linking design strategies to their actual effects on occupants. Such resources would support designers in creating spaces that are not only odour-neutral but also olfactorily pleasant and healthy.