The Perfume Club in South Korea by T-FP

Step inside Korean scent creator Soohyang’s Perfume Club, designed by T-FP. Think omakase meets wine tasting but replace the wine with scents—T-FP’s Perfume Club offers a bespoke experience for scent lovers and perfumers. Whether it is enjoying the written description of the scents on the wooden walls or simply sitting down in the bar area and uncovering your own signature scent, The Perfume Club is truly the next party place. Or simply the space to establish your scent diary instead.

The Perfume Club resides in one of Soohyang’s former perfume factories in Seongsu-dong, South Korea. Under the direction of local architecture firm T-FP, they were to fulfil the brief of creating an exclusive space for club members to enjoy scents curated by Soohyang. Taking the cultural and commercial context of Seongsu-dong, which is diverse in arts and culture, it was integral that the 162 square metres interior would honour the factory’s past and purpose as a brand.

With intent on focusing on the use of scent, the architects employed rich and sensual materials that would draw a darker ambience to force an exaggeration of other senses beyond sight. From the outside, the Perfume Club’s striking appearance of a simple concrete shell is striking among the many unique silhouettes within the neighbourhood. It’s only until stepping through the entrance marked by an aged steel door canopied by a curved roof that we are surprised by a sudden sense of darkness.

Pass the corridor of darkness reveals an opulent setting gently illuminated by a thin strip of light created by a gap in the silhouette of the façade. At the centre sits a glorious wooden bench and library shelf slightly curved diagonally across the space. The timber table, deep and rich in swirls of brown sits against plush carpet used for acoustic effect. Chairs banked along this bench are unique in their own way, a three-legged chair with the third leg extended as the backs for patrons to rest upon. Behind the library shelf rests plush vintage-looking upholstered benches with wooden spaces. Two distinguishable seating arrangements for workshops and knowledge sharing respectively.

Somewhat keeping the industrial language of the former perfume factory, the ceiling is exposed with minimal services (aircon and speakers for instance). The corrugated steel roof rests against wooden trusts, drawing connections with traditional architecture. The use of a simple gable structure minimised the need for columns and it allowed for additional elements to be further curated.

Behind the entrance rests an octagonal display room lined in mirror and lacquered-like timber. The washing facilities encased in a box banked to the south are cladded in a similar palette of luxurious tones of rich browns and marble making the Perfume Club ever-exclusive in feel.