TOWARDS A [TOULOUSE] OLFACTORY HERITAGE

The Noviciat, Toulouse’s New Center for Architecture and Heritage

Since September, the Noviciat has been housed at 17 Place de la Daurade, in a restored building steeped in history.

This new venue allows visitors to discover and understand the evolution of Toulouse, which has held the “Ville d’art et d’histoire” (City of Art and History) label since 2019.

The Service d’Animation de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine‘s mission is to raise awareness among residents, tourists and young audiences about the architecture, built heritage and landscapes of the region.

Osmoart lent its olfactory support to the project.

Three bespoke olfactory creations

Osmoart was commissioned to develop three original scents illustrating the materials traditionally used in the city’s construction — not always rosy ones: lime, clay and straw.

After more than three months of work alongside his Ecuadorian assistant Génesis Villareal, Pierre Bénard Ségu delivered these creations in July 2026, adapted to integrate with Tactile Studio‘s diffusion systems as well as the exhibition furniture, staged by Christelle Marty.

Scent as a way to preserve the memory of the city of Toulouse.

Scent as heritage.

The scent of violet as the inaugural fragrance of an olfactory heritage

The European Heritage Days were held on 19 and 20 September 2026, marked by the inauguration of the Noviciat exhibition.

For the occasion, we reformulated the scent of the Violette de Toulouse, originally created to perfume Rue des Puits-Clos in the heart of Toulouse for the launch of the Toulouse eyewear brand “La Brique et la Violette.”

This time, we infused this scent into the Toulouse brick of the new building’s two porches — a former Jesuit novice convent built in the 16th century, which later served as a military barracks, then a school, before becoming the costume workshop of the Théâtre du Capitole.

An olfactory control system was set up to diffuse the scent in sufficient quantity throughout the two days of the event within this scented airlock. Thanks to this “olfactory street art,” the public passed successively through the two perfumed porches.

In the open-air area, the reformulated water-soluble version of the scent was diffused by a bubble machine. A second, portable machine allowed Pierre Bénard Ségu, acting as olfactory technician for the occasion, to create violet-scented bubbles not only within the building but also beyond it, on the Quai de la Daurade — delighting passersby, children and adults, cyclists and motorists, as well as café terrace patrons and visitors queuing to discover the Noviciat.

Scented walks along the Canal du Midi

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Canal du Midi’s inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1996), Osmoart and the City of Toulouse are offering a unique sensory experience: a scented walk called “Nose in the Air Around the Canal du Midi.”

This “nose-hike,” guided by Pierre Bénard Ségu, invites participants to (re)discover the recently renovated banks of the canal — the Bassin des Filtres and the Parvis de Brienne — through smell as much as sight.

The route, which we describe in another article, is as follows: Place Saint-Pierre → Canal de Brienne → Manufacture des Tabacs → the great cedar tree at Bassin des Filtres → Amidonniers → Bazacle → back to Place Saint-Pierre.

At each stop, carefully selected natural or synthetic fragrances awaken memories and emotions.

“Here, walking means smelling the canal as much as seeing it… and letting each scent awaken a memory.”

Two walks have already taken place, one in the morning (from 10 a.m.) and one in the afternoon (from 2:30 p.m.), on Saturday 16 May and Saturday 12 September 2026.

One final date is planned for early October to close out this celebration.

Acknowledgments

Our olfactory thanks go to Élisabeth Garoste and all the teams at the Noviciat, as well as to Alistair Robinson, Eve-Lise Bélières (lead project designer, Tactile Studio) and Christelle Marty (set designer).

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