Five Senses - Smell
ol·fac·tion
älˈfakSHən,ōl-/
Olfaction, also known as olfactics, is the sense of smell.This sense is mediated by specialized sensory cells of the nasal cavity of vertebrates, which can be considered analogous to sensory cells of the antennae of invertebrates. In humans, olfaction occurs when odorant molecules bind to specific sites on the olfactory receptors.
The sense of smell can determine our opinion about a place within a second of being there.
And here I am.
150, Jalan petaling.
Designed n runned by mentahmatter Shin Chang n Penny Ng
Chocha foodstore
Having no signboard it was hard to tell whether we are at the right place. Upon entering, we double checked the address. I opened the door and I’m welcomed by a warm blanket of air that envelopes me in the rich aromas of fresh coffee. By stepping into the café and I could instantly know that this is the right place. The pungent smell was circulating the shop because the coffee bar is located near the right side of the door.
Usually smell is the least obvious among all the senses when it comes to experience buildings. Walking through the café, imagining myself being blind-folded I can sense the aromas were constantly changing. The rich scent of roasted bean drew me even further inside the café. At this point, I smell tea, Chinese tea. The smell was very subtle, but too subtle until it was overpowered by the coffee. The smell is very relaxing and somehow feeling it easing my troubled mind. Chinese Tea here is must order item as the tea culture is alive and well here. (Chocha in Hakka means sit and eat.)
Continue walking and I arrived at the kitchen.”What a fantastic smell of food!” My stomach was already growling and screeching. We found a place right infront of the coffee bar and I could already imagine myself eating the food. So we ordered a few dishes, I can only smell Cincalok Fried Chicken with a very fishy odour. For the rest, no significant smell. The food here was abit lack in flavour perhaps wanting the visitor to focus more on the ambience?
We ordered a hot Aged Fujian Shui Hsien from Mount Wuyi. Once I finished drinking there is some leaves left in the cup giving a residue smell of tea in the cup. It is difficult to describe this smell but to me it smells more vegetal rather than sweet, fruity or flowery.
It is said that our smell is our most emotional sense and therefore targeting this can convince the visitor to make a purchase and keep visiting the café (What a brilliant strategy!) Most importantly, smell triggers memories. While walking through the café, my mind was flooded with the memories of a nearly forgetten place, the old petaling street. The place where I used to visit every Sunday morning sending my brother to a tuition known “Pusat Tuisyen Kasturi”. While waiting for my brother, mom and I will go to a very “classic” KL style restaurant which now of course demolished. *thanks to MRT lol*
All these value what might call the air quality in a café that make me feels very welcoming from the moment I arrived. It proves that smell can be significant in transforming the experiential qualities of architecture in very unexpected way. Despite fully attention of most current architects to the sense of eyesight, architecture stimulates all of our senses. It is very important consider all senses in frame of architecture because consciously or spontaneous they will affect the perception of space and also make it a place to remind with five senses. If Choca Foodstore only emphasis on sense of smell, it wouldn’t be as interesting as now.
Frankly speaking, “Five Senses” is my favourite lecture after all. I would definitely try my best to implement the five senses into my design!
