At first glance, we might think that architecture and perfumery are two opposing worlds, distant and alien to each other, as if they did not share a single heartbeat. But the truth is that there is a hidden universe beyond what the eyes can perceive.
Fragrances with memory: Arquiste
Carlos Huber, a Mexican architect, was able to see this synergy through the singularity that defines him. For him, the building materials become essences and oils; the ornaments become top notes; the structure becomes the heart of the fragrance; and the foundations become base notes that linger on the skin. Each line, proportion, and angle becomes the ingredients that shape the balance of the fragrances.
And so Arquiste Parfumeur was born, an olfactory restoration of the past, an edification of fragrances in the present. Aromas, beautiful and complex, pay tribute to history and embrace modernity through perfumes created with the architectural precision of its founder and high-quality, sustainable, and responsibly sourced materials—the sublime of the ephemeral.
Huber first studied architecture at prestigious universities in his hometown and Paris, and later graduated with honours in Historic Preservation from Columbia University in New York. After designing commercial spaces with historical references, and given his studies on the role of non-visual cues in interpreting places, he collaborated with internationally renowned noses to recover the olfactory notes of historical moments.
In addition, he has collaborated with brands such as Vacation Inc, Cire Trudon, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, J.Crew and El Palacio de Hierro to create their exclusive bespoke fragrances. Huber is a ‘fragrance designer’ – or architect of invisible olfactory structures – rather than a ‘nose’ (master perfumers). For this task, he is assisted by perfumers such as Rodrigo Flores-Roux, Yann Vasnier and Calice Becker, three of Givaudan's great perfumers.
In essence, Arquiste is an architectural translation of the senses. Its aromas make it possible for us to experience, olfactorily speaking, moments of times to which we have not belonged. As its founder says, ‘they transport us to another place in time’.
The 3 most iconic perfumes of Arquiste Parfumeur
MISFIT
Each Arquiste perfume is a time capsule that transports us to distant worlds. The olfactory voyage of Misfit, a woody ambery fragrance developed by Rodrigo Flores-Roux, takes our ship to dock at the Port of Marseille in France. Here, we perceive the allure of nutmeg, carrot seed essence, French lavender and ambrette seeds, which bring that warm and seductive side.
Once in the city, a dormitory in the City of Flesh, where the undesirable becomes desirable again, is our destination. Frequented by bohemians and prostitutes, they leave a velvety trail of patchouli scents, while the shadows of Akigalawood and styrax are also sensed. The star of the scene, a cashmere shawl on the bed, oozes elegance and softly radiates the concrete of Spanish rockrose, intermingled with the exotic nuances of Venezuelan tonka bean and Tolu balsam, softening the carnal earthiness associated with counterculture.
THE ARCHITECTS CLUB
Just one spritz of The Architects Club, the woody, vanilla scent of the family, and you automatically find yourself in 1930s London. The scent, trail and duration of this perfume, created by Yann Vasnier, is very powerful, as is all its inspiration.
It's cocktail hour in Mayfair's most elegant Art Deco cigar lounge. Here, a group of architects leaves a trail of juniper berry oil, angelica root and lemon peel oil in their wake. They take over the place. Their aroma begins to intertwine delicately with the warm interior, replete with dark woods, leather and velvet, hence the accords of pepper wood, guaiac wood and oak wood. After the first cocktail of frosted martinis, the laughter is lost in heavy clouds of vanilla smoke, which become comforting and damp, blending perfectly with its amber background.
L'ETROG ACQUA
With L'Etrog Acqua, another juice made by Rodrigo Flores-Roux, we travel back to a precise moment: that first breath of the farmers at dawn in the mornings of October 1175 in Calabria, Italy. It reflects the moment when the first rays of sunlight hit the leaves and fruits of the green fields: the essence of myrtle leaf, Calabrian cedar, Sicilian lemon, Italian mandarin, lemon petitgrain and bergamot mark the first glimmer of the day, revealing its luminosity. Already ripe, with the water of the morning dew absorbed, they are ready to be harvested with the tools that the workers extract from their wooden hut.
This purely classic Italian juice has a three-dimensional, almost citrusy sillage throughout, woven through the dry woody base of Mediterranean lavender, labdanum, cedarwood and vetiver.
Visit the official Arquiste website.
Other iconic perfume brands:
- Carner Barcelona: an olfactory ode to the Mediterranean
- Matiere Premiere or how a perfume can become a true cult item
Last Updated on June 9, 2025 by Editorial Team
