The Institute for Art & Olfaction - Design Concept

Congratulations to Saskia and the newly formed Institute for Art and Olfaction !  The Institute for Art and Olfaction aims to instigate greater engagement with the art and science of scent. They do this through a public education program, by building an archive of contemporary perfume releases, by creating an accessible laboratory for scent innovation, and by inciting cross-genre collaboration between perfumers and other creative practitioners.
The design concept for this space in downtown L.A.'s LA Mart is centered around the ephemeral nature of fragrance. The space is intended to be flexible and ever changing to encourage the process of creativity. There are spaces for meeting & collaboration, reading & research, and brainstorming & experimentation all of which flow into and around each other.  The open nature of the plan is a challenge for creating spaces that suit different types of creative processes.  The plan for the space therefore accommodates more extroverted creatives with work surfaces which facilitate working in groups and more introverted creatives with work surfaces facing the wall to create a more private environment in the same open plan.  
The side walls were transformed into floor to ceiling chalk boards to allow for the immediacy of brainstorming and collaboration of ideas.