The research programme »Haptic and olfactory design. Resources for Vienna's creative industries« was carried out from 2007 to 2010 as a co-operation between three Viennese universities (two departments from the University of Vienna, the University of applied arts, the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences) and ZOOM-Children's Museum Vienna. The investigations resulted in a comprehensive and systematic attempt to draw the profile of the city of Vienna with respect to its haptic and olfactory qualities, on the basis of a broad interdisciplinary co-operation between human scientists, natural scientists and design researchers.
To this purpose, the researchers selected institutions and domains of the public space which not only traditionally define the cultural identity of the Austrian Capital, but also are essential for its everyday »image« and promised to highlight specific features of the Viennese »flair« beyond the common background of the modern urban culture. To be more specific, the haptic and olfactory identity of Vienna was described and assessed along six axes which correspond to the categories of: nature (public gardens and parks), cultural traditions (coffeehouses; museums and galleries), mobility (urban furniture and public transportation), non-visual spatial structures (selected places belonging to the public space), time or identity of a city as a palimpsest (antique stores) and, last but not least, the cross-cutting category of play (playgrounds). Particular hotspots of the investigation were those places which were most frequently associated with Vienna in the conducted interviews, such as the Volksgarten (known for its roses and lilac), the Cafés Sperl and Hawelka, the Stephansplatz (near St. Stephen's Cathedral), the Naschmarkt (the city's major open-air market), the Opernpassage (the underground passage adjacent to the Wiener Staatsoper), as well as two companies (the Manner wafers and chocolate Factory and the Mann Bakery).
The research focused on materials and the quantitative analysis and qualitative description of atmospheres. The complex methodology included the chemical analysis of samples collected in different places (in other words, the identification of fragrant compounds using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry), the psychophysiologcal interpretation of the effects specific odours (e.g. of vegetation) have on affective states and basic emotions in humans, as well as a new botanical classification of scent-families, the identification of blossom-scented plants which are suitable for the climate of Vienna and to draw their flowering-calendar. In addition to these, interviews and commented walks with experts and students enabled to describe the subjective perception of »atmospheres« in different locations in Vienna, to analyse its elements and factors, to draw smell maps of Vienna and follow the specific development of odours along seasonal cycles.On the whole, the research emphasized the influence of social practices and of narrative individual and collective identity on the sensory perception and the »synesthetic«, multimodal dimension of the lived urban space. Moreover, this diagnosis of the haptic and olfactory profile of Vienna served to identify places in the city which allow or even call for design interventions. Finally, the results of the project do not conceal specific difficulties in exploring the topic. These are related to the underdeveloped verbal competence in describing haptic and olfactory qualities and the corresponding experience, the transitory character of odours, not to mention the paradox requirement creative agents are confronted with to design or redecorate places whose qualities (patina and atmosphere) partly escape regulation and control and evolve rather involuntarily in long-term cycles, by means of a repeated use.