Studio Pneuma brings together architecture, design and fragrance through a distinctly Scandinavian perspective. Founded in Copenhagen, the studio creates perfumes and objects that explore how scent can influence our perception of the spaces, people and moments around us.
By Kinsley Ah-Chion
From Architecture to Fragrance
Studio Pneuma was founded in 2019 by the architects Diana Lindboe and Camilla Boccardi Christensen, and the initiative started with a simple question: how might the ideas of architecture be turned into sensory experiences?
The answer comes through fragrance, objects and spatial design. Instead of treating perfume as something that simply sits on the skin, the Copenhagen studio looks at scent as part of our relationship with our surroundings. A fragrance can change the feeling of a room, bring back a memory or make us more aware of the present moment.
Diana Lindboe and Camilla Boccardi Christensen
This architectural background gives the brand a different way of thinking about perfume. Space, proportion, material and the human body all play a role in its creative process. Studio Pneuma moves between the invisible world of fragrance molecules and the physical presence of objects, creating products that connect these two sides of design.
Designing for the Senses
For Studio Pneuma, the senses are central to how we experience the world. Touch, smell and physical presence can influence how we remember a place or understand a particular moment.
The brand’s approach also considers the human body. Its designs take inspiration from anatomy, scale and the relationship between the body and the spaces it occupies. As a result, the studio pays close attention to how its creations feel when they are worn, held or encountered within an interior.
Perfume plays a very close role in this process; when it is applied to the skin it remains near the body and at the same time comes into contact with the air surrounding it, thus establishing a quiet link between individual experience and the environment around.
Studio Pneuma describes scent as a way to sharpen our awareness of the present. That idea sits at the centre of the brand and helps explain why its fragrances feel closely connected to memory, atmosphere and emotion.
A Contemporary Approach to Perfume
Studio Pneuma approaches fragrance with curiosity. The creative process leaves room for experimentation and considers both natural materials and manufactured aromatics as important tools for composition.
This gives the perfumers freedom to explore scent without being restricted by traditional expectations. Natural and synthetic materials can work together to create a specific impression, mood or memory. For Studio Pneuma, the material itself is only one part of the story; what matters is the experience it creates.
The brand’s fragrance collection includes scents such as Air Rides, Eager and Remain, alongside room fragrances including Floating Leaf, Worn and Drying Oak. More recently, Studio Pneuma has expanded its offering with Drying Oak Eau de Parfum and travel-friendly formats.
Each fragrance has its own atmosphere. Air Rides, for example, takes inspiration from a seasonal change in a Mediterranean landscape, focusing on pine, ozone, pink pepper, mimosa, magnolia, frankincense, vetiver and sandalwood.
Fragrance, Memory and Emotion
Memory plays an important role in Studio Pneuma’s creative thinking. A smell can take us somewhere instantly, often without warning. It can remind us of a person, a place, a particular season or a moment from years ago.
The studio examines this relationship by means of modern compositions which allow for a personal interpretation. For one person a scent might be linked to a well-known landscape, while for another it could be connected to a completely different memory.
This openness is important to the brand. Studio Pneuma does not try to dictate how a fragrance should be experienced. Instead, its perfumes offer sensory impressions that can become personal over time.
That approach gives fragrance a role beyond personal grooming. Scent becomes part of how we experience ourselves and our surroundings.
A Considered Approach to Materials
Sustainability is another important part of Studio Pneuma’s philosophy. The brand selects sustainably produced materials of natural origin alongside manufactured aromatics, with the aim of reducing its environmental impact while maintaining quality and performance.
The studio also avoids animal-derived materials, and its products are not tested on animals. Its approach considers the environmental demands associated with cultivating, harvesting and processing certain natural ingredients. By using a considered combination of natural and manufactured materials, Studio Pneuma can explore different olfactory effects while limiting its reliance on resource-intensive processes.
The scents are produced in a sustainable way in Scotland and are carefully and precisely hand-poured. This production method contributes to the studio’s emphasis on craftsmanship.
Where Objects and Atmospheres Meet
Studio Pneuma’s work extends beyond perfume. Its portfolio includes spatial projects, design objects and collaborations that investigate how materials, scent and surroundings can influence one another.
The studio’s current collection includes perfume, room fragrance and sculptural objects, showing how its architectural background continues to shape its work. Its Curvy Stool, for example, brings the physical weight of material into contrast with the invisible character of fragrance.
This relationship between the tangible and the intangible is central to Studio Pneuma. A perfume may exist as an invisible trail in the air, while an object occupies a defined physical space. Together, they demonstrate the studio’s interest in how design can be experienced through the whole body.
The Copenhagen Perspective
Studio Pneuma, which is based in Copenhagen, applies a distinct Scandinavian approach to the field of fragrance, and its designs are thoughtful without ending up distant or experimental without losing touch with everyday life.
First and foremost, the studio wants us to give the senses our full attention. A smell has the power to alter the way we see a room. A material can affect the way we interact with an object. A familiar fragrance is capable of bringing a past memory back into clear view.
Studio Pneuma places these small sensory experiences at the centre of its work. Through fragrance, architecture and design, the Copenhagen studio creates objects and atmospheres that invite us to notice where we are, what we feel and how closely the senses are connected to memory.