The Art of Scent
“IRTH إرث,” National Pavilion of Saudi Arabia, at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, 2023. Photo credit: Venice Documentation Project
Courtesy of the Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia
The National Pavilion of Saudi Arabia participated in the 18th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, through an interactive experience designed by the architect AlBara Saimaldahar, along with two curators, Basma Bouzo and Noura Bouzo, and their assistant curators Joharah Lou Pabalate and Cyril Zammit.
“IRTH إرث” exhibition analysed the anthropological and historical aspects of architecture, exploring the past and the present in order to uncover the mysteries of the future and solve its dilemmas. The Pavilion was commissioned by the Architecture and Design Commission – under the umbrella of the Ministry of Culture – and was on display within the Sale d’Armi (“Armory Halls”) of the Arsenale complex from May 20 to November 26, 2023.
Multiple curators allowed for a melding of viewpoints around the vocabulary of Saudi architecture and understanding its building blocks, exploring the intangible relationship of humans with their surroundings, and interacting with a nature that is aware of the interior and the exterior alike.
This began with clay as a raw and structural material for architectural cladding, and led to embedded and intangible narratives that define the identity of spaces, places, and things. All of this accompanied visitors of “IRTH إرث” on a journey that gently manifested independent feelings without influencing them towards a specific direction.
A part of the Pavilion’s identity borrowed from the vision of a group of architects and architectural offices, born of a dialogue revolving around alternative materials, in order to present a look towards the future through a lens whose essence is authenticity. It enabled one to experience, see, touch, smell and hear a moment in time of “Our Heritage”.
Most striking was the fragrance in the large central space of the pavilion, specially created for the exhibition and made of lavender, frankincense and myrrh; a mixture that reverberates with Arab culture and custom. The guests of the opening ceremony, which was held on May 18, left with a souvenir from the exhibition (a small bottle of this charming fragrance with diffusers).
From this place full of heritage, we spoke with the two sisters curating the “IRTH إرث” exhibition, Basma and Noura, to learn more about it and its relationship with scent:
In response to the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia's theme, “The Laboratory of the Future," for the Saudi Pavilion, we delved into the tangible and intangible qualities of materials in relation to Saudi architecture. The interactive journey used earth as a starting point for exploration alongside organic material experimentation.
Irth is a transliteration of the Arabic word that can either mean legacy or treasured possession, which encapsulates the intent of our curatorial vision for the pavilion. Materials within an architectural context have narratives embedded within them, telling us about a nation’s inhabitants and how they responded to the world around them. Likewise, we recognized that a dynamic legacy is at play, built upon a collective and continuous effort by institutions and grassroots practitioners alike.
As the visitors entered the National Pavilion of Saudi Arabia, they were flanked with dramatic arches reminiscent of traditional arches. These vernacular arches were traditionally handmade of mixed local earth material. At the Pavilion, upon closer inspection, the visitor realised that the earth material that made up the arches had been innovated and, more specifically, made through 3D printing and mixed with different local materials to ensure its sustainability as well as its prolonged preservation. In addition, the central piece was a further testament to this. The installation was a destination anchor with the pavilion, but after the La Biennale’s closure, it finds itself serving a long-term purpose in the Red Sea, adding to the marine habitat, and stimulating further development for interspecies design.
“IRTH إرث”, National Pavilion of Saudi Arabia at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, 2023. Photo credit: Venice Documentation Project
Courtesy of the Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia
The scent experience, located at the centre of the pavilion, was a fusion of cultural resonant scents that drew the crowds in and connected them to the pavilion. To build that sense of nostalgia and connection with the pavilion, the Saudi scent we created married tradition with innovation to create an imprint or memory that was perceived uniquely by each visitor. The visitors kept returning to revisit that scent that represents the memory of a place's lingering essence created by the lives that breathe life into architecture.
It is well-known that our sense of smell is more closely linked with memory than any other sense. Intricate memories can be conjured up in a few milliseconds of smelling a specific scent. The strength of scent as an intangible heritage lies in the fact that it is the most vital link to the places, people, and things that make up our heritage.
Courtesy of the Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia
Scent holds in its folds moments that can never be fully captured any other way. A scent can strengthen the relation we have with the building materials of our heritage. The scent of the earth, the scent of the materials mixed into the earth to strengthen it, and the scent of the inhabitants all create a solid connection to our heritage.
The future of scent lies in creating experiences that bridge the physical, digital, and sensory world. We believe that scents will be created that inspire connection, sensory wellness and cognitive enhancement. There are already new tech products to olfactive strategies that are helping conceptualise and bring to life sensory moments through cutting-edge research, technology and the human experience.
As we wrap up “IRTH إرث”, we are overcome with feeling very honored and privileged to have put our work forth and received immense first-hand interaction and reactions from very diverse crowds. Regarding architecture, most visitors were not expecting the National Pavilion of Saudi Arabia to return to the most basic of materials: earth. They were impressed to know that our vision for the future of architecture is collaborative, building on natural material and learning from architecture communities worldwide about how this eco-friendly material is being mixed and advanced to create building blocks of the future.
“IRTH إرث”, National Pavilion of Saudi Arabia at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, 2023. Photo credit: Venice Documentation Project
Courtesy of the Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia
