Sniffing It Out The significance of odours in the experience and conservation of heritage

This research focuses on odours in culturally significant places.

Whether these odours are perceived as positive or negative depends on the collective and individual attribution of meaning, which is culturally shaped and conditioned.[1] Odours can thus have an influence on the identity of a place and they contribute to the sense of place and the atmosphere of a place.[2] However, odours are also involved in place attachment and the formation of identity.[3]

Various methods are examined and illustrated with the help of different case studies. The example of a 700-year-old temple in the western Himalayas (Ladakh) deals theoretically with the applicability of Alois Riegl's canon of values to the ‘olfactory patina’.[4] The method of smell-mapping is applied to the historic town of Grasse (France), which is known for its perfume production and which has been included in the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. Mapping the olfactory landscape is carried out as autoethnographic approach that investigates whether subjective sensory experience can be objectively documented. The research at this location is combined with an analysis of the significance of odours for the various stakeholders who work with and are confronted with odours at this location.

Various methods are analysed with the help of the different case studies. A research stay of several months in Japan at the partner university in Tsukuba was supported by the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and enabled research to be carried out on the ‘100 most beautiful odours’ in Japan, which were nominated by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment in 2001. Among other things, the study investigated the influence of the odours in the booktown Jimbocho in Tokyo on the formation of identity and place attachment of booksellers[5].

As research is primarily concerned with the visually perceivable characteristics and values of historical places, this research proposes an extension of the analysis of these places, focussing on the olfactory characteristics of heritage sites. The research consists of a methodological analysis in which various approaches to the documentation of odours are traced and which is anchored in human geography[6], sensory ethnography[7], building research and conservation science. The aim is to show that odours can be documented in culturally significant places so that they can be used for conservation (informational conservation[8]), site interpretation and presentation.

Footnotes

[1] Engen, T. (1991). Odor sensation and memory. Praeger, p. 64.  Herz, R. S. (2006). I know what I like. In J. Drobnick (Ed.) The smell culture reader (English ed, pp. 190–203). Berg, p. 196. Maggioni, E., Cobden, R., Dmitrenko, D., Hornbæk, K., & Obrist, M. (2020). SMELL SPACE: Mapping out the Olfactory Design Space for Novel Interactions. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 27(5), 1–26. doi.org/10.1145/3402449, p. 6.

[2] Siehe u.a. Steele, F. (1981). The sense of place. CBI Pub. Co. Tuan, Y. (1974). Topophilia: A study of environmental perception, attitudes, and values. Prentice-Hall. Pallasmaa, J. (2012). The eyes of the skin: Architecture and the senses (3. ed). Wiley.

[3] Zur Ortsbindung, siehe Inalhan, G., Yang, E., & Weber, C. (2021). Place attachment theory (pp. 181–194). https:// doi.org/10.1201/9781003128830-16.

[4] Skedzuhn-Safir, A. (2024). Powerful Patina: The Value of Odors in a Tibetan-Buddhist Temple. Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, 1–18. doi.org/10.1080/01971360.2024.2393532.

[5] Skedzuhn-Safir, A., & Ikeda, M. (2024). Sensing scents: The impact of smells in shaping place attachment. In M. Boubezari, C. R. Duarte, & E. Pinheiro (Eds.), Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on Ambiances: Sensory Explorations, Ambiances in a changing world, 8-11 October, 2024, Lisbon, Portugal (Vol. 1, pp. 1116–1127). International Ambiances Network.

[6] McLean, K. (2018). Communicating and Mediating Smellscapes. In V. Henshaw (Ed.), Designing with smell: Practices, techniques and challenges (pp. 67–77). Routledge. Henshaw, V. (2014). Urban smellscapes: Understanding and designing city smell environments. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group. Porteous, J. D. (1985). Smellscape. Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment, 9(3), 356–378. doi.org/10.1177/030913338500900303

[7] Pink, S. (2015). Doing sensory ethnography (2nd edition). SAGE.

[8] (Muñoz Viñas, S. (2005). Contemporary theory of conservation. Routledge.

Skedzuhn-Safir, A. (2024). Powerful Patina: The Value of Odors in a Tibetan-Buddhist Temple. Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, 1–18. doi.org/10.1080/01971360.2024.2393532

Skedzuhn-Safir, A., & Ikeda, M. (2024). Sensing scents: The impact of smells in shaping place attachment. In M. Boubezari, C. R. Duarte, & E. Pinheiro (Eds.), Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on Ambiances: Sensory Explorations, Ambiances in a changing world, 8-11 October, 2024, Lisbon, Portugal (Vol. 1, pp. 1116–1127). International Ambiances Network.

In preparation

Skedzuhn-Safir, A. (ed.) (forthcoming) Scents of Place: The Odour of Cultural Heritage and its Meaning. A reader.

Skedzuhn-Safir, A. (forthcoming). Making Sense of a Place: Investigating the Significance of Smells. In: Rheidt & Wiesener (eds.) Zur Wirklichkeit historischen Bauens. Birkhäuser.

Kluge, D. and Skedzuhn-Safir, A. (eds.) (forthcoming) Multisensory Design and its Management Implications at Sites of Heritage, Art and Tourism (working tite).

Making Sense of a Place: Investigating the Significance of Smells. Graduiertenkolleg, Querschnittkolloquium Zur Wirklichkeit historischen Bauens. Wertsetzung und konstruierendes Erkennen, Berlin/Cottbus, 28.–30. Juni 2023,

Olf. Odeur. Oud. – Die Bedeutung von Gerüchen für das kulturelle Erbe. Plattform für Kulturerbe und Kulturproduktion, Freie Universität Bozen, 18. März 2025.

Sniffing it out: A study project on the odours of a former GDR lecture hall. ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Twentieth Century Heritage. Annual General Meeting, Porto, 29. Juni 2022.

Sniffing It Out: Visualising Smells at Heritage Sites. Ringvorlesung Die Sinne in der Geschichte. Neue Perspektiven von der Antike bis zur Moderne,  FU Berlin, Prof. Dr. D. Hacke, 1. Juli 2025.

Smelly Sites: Potentials of Smells at Heritage Sites for Enhancing Social Values. Uncommon Senses V, Konferenz, Concordia University, Montreal, 10. Mai 2025

Powerful patina: The significance of odorous wall paintings in a Buddhist temple in Ladakh. Uncommon Senses IV, Konferenz, Concordia University, Montreal, 5. Mai 2023.

Sensing Scents: The Impact of Smells in Shaping Place Attachment. 5^TH International Congress on Ambiances. Lissabon, 9. Oktober 2024.

Poster session

Skedzuhn-Safir, A. (2023) Sniffing it out. Odeuropa Smell Culture Fair, Amsterdam, 28 November 2023.

Zusammen mit Prof. Klaus Hackl, Project Product Design 1.d: Unveiling Scents. Designing with, through, and for Smell. Freie Universität Bozen, SoSe 2025, 17. Und 18. März 2025.

Workshop: Training on Research in Smellscapes and Analysis of Smellscape at University Campus and Neighbourhood. Tsukuba University, Master students Heritage Studies, 13. und 16. Juli 2024.

Making Scents. The Multifaceted Heritage of Perfumery. Erkundung der Schnittstellen zwischen materiellem und immateriellem Erbe, Kultur und Natur in Grasse/Frankreich, dessen Wissen um Parfümerie von der UNESCO als immaterielles Kulturerbe eingestuft wurde; BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, WiSe 2022/23.

Emotions in Heritage: Scents of Place. Untersuchung der kulturellen Bedeutung von Gerüchen und des damit verbundenen sogenannten “Sense of Place” an historischen Orten, am Beispiel des Alten Hörsaals der BTU Cottbus. BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, WiSe 2021/22.

Project lead: Dr. Alexandra Skedzuhn-Safir