Public space intervention commissioned by the City of Zurich to explore collective memory through scent. Aimed at the general public to provoke reflection on hidden histories and urban pain.
Zurich sought to redefine its remembrance culture, making it more inclusive, emotional, and accessible. The goal was not to teach facts, but to make people feel. Through SCHMERZH, the city became the storyteller of its own pain, using scent to evoke reflection in places where history had been silenced. The public was invited to pause, to wonder, to question. There was no product to understand, no service to promote, only the experience of memory made tangible. Participants weren’t expected to act, but to sense. To engage with their surroundings in a new way. To feel differently about the city they live in. And to realise: remembrance doesn’t need a statue, it can seep through the pores of everyday life.
Instead of plaques or statues, SCHMERZH used scent to let the city speak. Ordinary manhole covers became “scent monuments,” releasing a custom-designed fragrance that bypassed rational thinking and touched collective memory. This unexpected medium transformed public space into a sensory archive, subtle yet disruptive. Pink circles marked the scent’s origin; posters offered context and led to a digital platform and poetic Instagram channel. Bottled versions of the scent extended the experience beyond the street. The innovation lay in the combination of olfactory storytelling, minimal visual cues, and public intervention, turning the city into both medium and protagonist.
