"The 'Liquid Architecture' perfume collection consists of ten architectural projects in 'liquid format'."
Antonio Maciá Mateu, founding partner and creative director of World of Holistic Architecture and WOHA Parfums, explains the philosophy behind these original perfumes, featuring disruptive packaging that has already received two design awards.
You're an architect and co-founder of an architectural studio in Elche. How did the idea for Woha Parfums come about?
We are interested in working on an architecture that stimulates the senses in a holistic way through the design of multisensory spaces in which smell plays a relevant role. This is a procedure we follow both in our research and teaching of architecture at the University of Alicante and professionally in our Elche studio (WOHA, acronym for World of Holistic Architecture). In developing professional projects, we follow the procedure of breaking them down into smaller subprojects that we study independently and then aggregate them together to obtain a result that is better than the mere sum of these small projects. Generally, one of these subprojects is associated with smell and consists of the design or use of a scent related to the projected space. This situation made us consider delving deeper into these olfactory projects and turning them into personal fragrances. This is where the idea and, consequently, the emergence of the WOHA Parfums brand emerged as the section of World of Holistic Architecture dedicated to smell, perfumery, and associated designs.
Woha Parfums' perfumes merge the world of fragrance with architecture. Can you explain the concept behind the brand more fully?
Architecture has, for centuries, been based on the sense of sight, which, of course, is a fundamental sense, but it is not the only one, and we would miss the opportunity to benefit from richer spaces if we do not design them based on generating stimuli for all the senses: sight, hearing, touch, and smell (also taste, given this sense's close relationship with smell). From this perspective, aromas are another component of the architectural space that help define it. On the other hand, the olfactory information captured by nasal receptors is directed directly to the brain's limbic system, which is why it is directly related to memories. Consequently, a fragrance can also help visualize architectural spaces stored in our memories. Both aromas and personal fragrances related to architectural space are the focus of WOHA Parfums.
The brand emerged as a result of research and its practical application to multisensory architectural projects. Delving into the world of fragrances with the intention of showing people the sensorial component of architecture, offering "olfactory translations" of architectural projects, is one of the main differentiating points.
It's important for us to be able to work from the duality of architectural creation and its "translation" into fragrances in order to offer a collection of perfumes that not only "smell good"—which they do—but are also a means of expressing deep and detailed work. Consequently, it's a brand that needs to work calmly and without rushing, so the production pace of the perfumes that make up the collection is relaxed, at a rate of one creation per year, perhaps two per year at times.
“Liquid Architecture” is a collection of 10 fragrances inspired by architectural projects in Elche and its surroundings. What does each fragrance symbolize?
The “Liquid Architecture” collection is made up of ten fragrances (and other objects associated with each one) that olfactorily “translate” or interpret ten architectural projects built in Elche and its surroundings. These are ten architectural projects in “liquid format.” The first three fragrances are based on: a café within a vertical garden in Elche (“Calahorra”), the first; offices within an industrial warehouse in Santa Pola (“Los ojos de tu piel”), the second; and the renovation of a home, also in Elche (“OM AH UHM”), the third.
Do all projects maintain the idea of multisensory architecture?
Yes, and they're based on the people who inhabit each of those spaces. Therefore, each project is different because each person or group of people is different and has different spatial and psychological needs. Consequently, each perfume follows a common general approach, but the results make the perfumes very different from one another. These perfumes aren't guided by olfactory families but by the coherence they must present with the project they olfactorily "translate."
The perfume and the designed objects (bottles, caps, boxes, etc.) must be consistent with a multisensory project and must also be a multisensory experience. Sight is associated with the design of the objects, touch is related to the textures of the caps and bottles, and smell is obviously linked to the fragrance: the wood in the offices, the smell of gasoline, and the salty component of the sea lead the olfactory process. The density of the composition leads to textures, indirect touch, and taste (for example, in the offices, there is a cafeteria where you can smell coffee and pastries).
What would you highlight about its olfactory composition?
The entire collection meets one condition: a predominance of natural raw materials and high-quality natural raw material fractions with concentrations above 20%. However, this condition must not contradict the concepts of the various projects. Since each one is different and each perfume must "translate" this olfactorily, each fragrance is different, not only in terms of aroma but also in terms of the type of raw material and how it should be combined.
Who is the perfumer behind the fragrances?
Undoubtedly, a fundamental part of the project is the participation of the perfumers. The initial formulations have been and are being developed by perfumer Alejandro Ponsá, who has repeatedly demonstrated his mastery of natural raw materials. However, in order to maintain the coherence of the projects and, in turn, enrich the work on both the collection and the brand, other perfumers will participate, allowing, alongside Alejandro's work, to foster a diversity of perspectives.
“Calahorra” and “Los ojos de tu piel” are the first two perfumes on the market, followed by a third…
Yes, indeed. The collection began development in 2023 with the project for a café inside a vertical garden attached to the 11th-century Moorish tower of Calahorra in Elche, the tower from which the perfume takes its name: "Calahorra." It is a natural garden that gives off strong green and earthy aromas and is also a café where natural juices are served. This perfume, as well as its associated objects, began to be sold in February 2024. In this case, the use of natural raw materials was necessary, allowing for consistency with the project.
However, for the second fragrance in the collection, "The Eyes of Your Skin," based on an office project, we had to work with natural raw materials (different types of cedar wood, seaweed, etc.) but also with synthetic molecules that allow for an olfactory connection with gasoline. The design results in a multisensory space in the terms set forth in the book "The Eyes of Your Skin" by architect Juhani Pallasmaa, from which the name is derived.
The third fragrance, on the market since late July 2025, is related to a home designed as a meditation space, the starting point from which it takes its name: “OM AH UHM”.
The packaging is very original. What did you want to convey with the bottles?
The design of the bottles is based on the application of concepts commonly used in architectural design, but applied to these pieces. These concepts are associated with harmony and proportion on the one hand, and with structural balance in the building on the other. The dimensions of the piece (height, distance between the stopper and the bottle, diameters, etc.) have values and proportions that allow each piece to be perceived harmoniously. The arrangement of the stopper relative to the bottle allows for three positions: the narrow base of the stopper (almost unstable balance), resting on the bottle (stable balance), and on the sloping sides of the stopper (rotating, dynamic balance).
The design of the caps is very disruptive in perfumery, due to the material used and their shape. What is the basis for their manufacturing process?
In a concrete structural construction system that uses excavated soil as a natural formwork, once the concrete has hardened, it is removed, leaving the structure defined by the texture of the soil and the shape of the excavation. As an example, architect Junya Ishigami's house-restaurant in Ube. The process of shaping the corks is the same, but replacing the soil with recycled glass powder from bottles. The shape of the cork is "excavated" over a box filled with glass powder, and once hardened, it is removed, leaving the shape of the hollow and the surface texture provided by the glass powder.
The cases represent a cardboard blueprint holder with stickers. Is this another nod to the connection with architecture?
Yes, specifically architecture, which was represented almost entirely manually, without the use of computers. I'm talking about the architecture of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. At that time, plans were carried in cardboard case holders, drawn by hand, the letters were placed with stencils, and people, trees, and objects were placed on the plans using stickers or drawn directly by hand. That's the reason for using the same typeface, the box as a cardboard case holder, and the information using stickers. The main sticker represents the project plan to which each perfume refers, but, from an olfactory perspective, they are sensory maps associated with smell.
Tell us about the special pieces.
Coinciding with the first anniversary of the brand's first objects being launched, we decided to collaborate with ceramist Sonia Martínez Guirao to design a series of 10 ceramic pieces representing and embodying the first two fragrances. The pieces are composed of two of the characteristics each fragrance has in relation to nature: vegetation on land ("Calahorra") and vegetation in the sea ("Los ojos de tu piel"). We also worked on versions of all the fragrances using pieces of olive tree trunks painted with light bulb lacquer as a means to explore other forms of formal and material expression.
The collection is sold in a selection of niche perfumeries. How many points of sale are available and in which countries?
In Spain, in addition to the brand's website www.wohaparfums.es, they can be found in cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, and Malaga. They are also available in other European countries, including Germany, Croatia, Poland, and the United Kingdom, among others, particularly in Italy. Outside of Europe, they are also available in Kuwait. Finally, they are not only sold in niche perfumery outlets but are also found in interior design and fashion-related spaces.
