“ARTISTS OF AIR AND ATMOSPHERE ”
IGNANT . 2020
Interview and studio visit
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Shizuko Yoshikuni and Manuel Kuschnig are artists of air and atmosphere. As AOIRO, an olfactory design studio that sits in the misty divide between perfumery and aromatherapy, the pair create tailor-made scents for spaces.
Though we understand the world sensorially, our olfactory ability is commonly considered less important than sight, hearing, taste and touch. But why? Marcel Proust’s writing on memory illustrates the mnemonic power of scent; capable of resurrecting memories thick with sentiment from the depths of our unconscious. Contemporary science corroborates this fact, with studies concluding that scent is more likely to evoke emotional memories than any other sensorial experience.
Images: Marina Denisova Words: Rosie Flanagan
* READ MORE : IGNANT
“BESPOKE”
FINANCIAL TIMES – HOW TO SPENT IT . 2018
Studio visit with HTSI - A section about the “bespokes person” - people who create tailor made experiences.
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It's not only the singers who are hitting the right notes inside Leipzig's opera house. So too is the delicate citrus-tinged aroma that hangs in the air of the grand foyer - a carefully thought out and handmade olfactory tribute to a cultural institution beloved in the east German city for over three centuries. Berlin-and Tokyo-based Aoiro Airdesign explored the building inside and out while creating the perfect scent to fill it: "We spent time with the director of the opera house and visited three performances to capture the different audiences and moods," says Manuel Kuschnig, who met scent creator Shizuko Yoshikuni in her native Japan in 2009 and the pair soon started working together.
Words by Jessica Saltz
* READ MORE : Financial Times / How to spent it
“HITTING THE RIGHT NOTE”
FREUNDE VON FREUNDEN . 2016
Studio visit by FVF - a magazine brought together by a collective interest in art, culture, food, design, innovation, and social change.
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Hitting the right note with Shizuko Yoshikuni and Manuel Kuschnig’s signature room scents. Overlooking Mariannenplatz in Kreuzberg, Shizuko Yoshikuni and Manuel Kuschnig run their scent-creation business, AOIRO Airdesign.
Stepping into their apartment is at once a multi-sensory and soothing experience: crisply white, with a wall of perfectly curated bottles, scents and curiosities, it seems made for their needs. For the past four years, the space has functioned as their home, studio, office and showroom. This may sound chaotic, but the sense of calm is palpable, impressive for a working couple with a young baby. Needless to say, it smells beautiful and by the end of our conversation it’s clear that the relaxing ambience is no accident, but perfectly constructed.
Photography by Robert Rieger.
* READ MORE : Freunde von Freunden
“SCENT THAT STIMULATE THE SOUL”
THE SLOWDOWN . 2022
Conversation with Slowdown at the intersection of culture, nature, and the future.
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For Shizuko Yoshikuni and Manuel Kuschnig, the Japanese-Austrian couple behind the Berlin-based olfactory design studio Aoiro, scent is essential to the success of any environment, adding an important experiential quality that goes beyond sight and sound. They make location-specific aromas for a wide range of clients—including Bang & Olufsen, Design Hotels, and Vitra, whose VitraHaus gallery in Germany reopened this week with a custom Aoiro scent diffused through the air of its entrance—with the aim of eliciting an emotion. Walk into any of their perfumed projects, and its savor is likely to be felt, not simply smelled.
Yoshikuni and Kuschnig—who have backgrounds in aromatherapy and philosophy, respectively—often describe the olfactory awareness they hope to achieve by referencing kōdō, the Japanese art of appreciating the subtle redolence of incense with one’s entire being. The pair’s knack for using smell as a vehicle for meditation is apparent in its own fragrance line, which include candles, air mists, oils, and a moon-inspired perfume that will be released later this year.
WORDS: Tiffany Lambert
* READ MORE : SLOWDOWN
Further Press readings:
/ New York Times - T Magazine / Casa Brutus / Wallpaper Magazin / Vogue / Harpers Bazaar / Interview Magazine / DEAR / Die Zeit / AD France / Milk Deco / Zeitmagazin / Deutschlandradio Kultur /
“SENSORY ATMOSPHERES”
NEW NORM MAGAZINE . 2020
Interview with NEW NORM MAGAZINE - a bi-annual lifestyle publication and online platform covering unique stories on art, design, and architecture.
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We see ourselves in a position to translate the narrative of the brand or concept into an olfactory sense. We work with clients to capture the brand’s heritage, promises, personality, and its ambition and try to offer them a closer understanding of the scent creation process and create a scent profile or identity which matches their desired atmosphere.
When we started to work with professionals from other fields, such as creatives from interior, lighting, or sound design, it helped us realise how scent can play a leading role to connect, support, and amplify other senses within a holistic spatial or scenographic concept. Based on these experiences we have developed our own olfactory taxonomy, which is very synaesthetic and strongly connected to other sensory impressions. This system allows us to classify fragrances in a rather functional way and to include all senses in the process of creation and communication with other design fields.
Photography by Paul Aiden Perry, Piet Albert Goethals, Pujan Shakupa
* READ MORE : NEW NORM
“GESCHMACK”
TRUMER . 2018
An interview series about the topics of “Life”.
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AOIRO, das ist das japanische Wort für „die Farbe blau“ (ao = Blau, iro = Farbe). „In dieser Farbe des klaren Himmels und dem Verständnis der unsichtbaren Farbqualität der Luft, spiegelt sich auch der Ansatz von AOIRO wider.„ So beschreiben Sie die Herkunft ihres Firmennamens. Denn Shizuko und Manuel kreieren Düfte oder wie sie selber sagen sie machen „olfaktorisches Design“. Sie unterstützen Firmen dabei, genau die richtige Atmosphäre zu schaffen, um Räume in Szene zu setzen und Erlebnisse zu schaffen. Dabei setzen sie vollkommen auf natürliche Inhaltsstoffe und den individuellen Zugang zu jedem Kunden, für den sie arbeiten. Genau dieser Ansatz macht die beiden genau die richtigen Gesprächspartner um über das Thema “Schmecken” zu sprechen.Denn Riechen und Schmecken hängen direkt miteinander zusammen. Und mit einem guten Leben…
* READ MORE : Trumer . Einfach Leben
“AOIRO”
ITS A PASSION THING . 2018
Interview from ISSUE No. 2 – IT’S A PASSION THING - an independent journal about people driven by passion and redefining success.
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Shizuko Yoshikuni and Manuel Kuschnig are artists of air. As AOIRO, they run an olfactory design studio out of their apartment in Berlin, where aromatherapy meets bespoke perfumery. Working with clients around the world, they create tailor-made scents for brands, special occasions and spaces of all kinds.
* READ MORE : ITSAPASSION
“SCENT OF SPACE”
DWELL . 2021
Interviews within the field of olfactory design and architecture with DWELL.
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Scents of Space: How Fragrance Instantly Uplifts Your Mood and Mindfulness at Home - Interviews with The Olfactory Designers: AOIRO / The Architect: Suchi Reddy, Reddymade / The Fragrance Futurist: Olivia Jezler, Future of Smell
In interior design, the power of smell is often overlooked. Three experts share strategies for using scent to shape and enhance your experience of home.
When it comes to scents for relaxation, AOIRO encourages going beyond the classics to explore subtler essences with more complexity. "For winding down, wood essences are really effective," notes Yoshikuni. "We love the Japanese wood hiba, an earthy, powerful, deep wood that’s extremely grounding, and hinoki, which is lighter and more gentle, airy." Frankincense is another favorite—"really purifying and soothing, but with a nice energy and a good tension to it"—as is petitgrain, extracted from the leaves of bitter orange, a vibrant green scent that both calms and uplifts.
Words by Anna Dorothea Ker
* READ MORE : DWELL
“THE ART OF INCENSE MAKING”
MOOWON . 2018
An introduction to our incense creation on Awaji Island in Japan for Moowon - a magazine on artisanship, culture, and nature, composed by wonderful Mona Kim.
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The Art of Incense Making and its Olfactory Ritual
From ancient form to modern ritual: An interview with AOIRO, a Japanese-Austrian duo dedicated to the design of ritualistic scent, about the experience of incense burning and the fascinating traditional process of incense making in Japan's Awaji Island.
* READ MORE : Mowoon