Passing through a green warp pipe, I see a colorful mushroom kingdom spreading out in front of me. Almost.  Headset pressed to my face, volume up, I'm actually watching the Super Mario Bros. movie in Apple's Vision Pro from a room in my house, the screen stretched out in 3D.  But I'm feeling a little emotional, sort of a visceral thrill, like a memory. That's because the film's blending with my memories of being at Universal Studios' Epic Universe theme park a few weeks ago, when I was walking around an actual physical Mushroom Kingdom, passing through a real and very large green warp pipe — but in Orlando, Florida.  In the park, it's all walls I can touch, blocks I can tap. Coming back to watch the movie again, in 3D, it now feels a little bit like coming home. Imaginary worlds are expanding… both in my brain, and in the virtual and physical realms. It's happening in movies, in games, in VR and in places like Epic Universe, the biggest new theme park in the US in 20 years, which opens to the public on May 22.  All these immersive worlds are tapping into universes we already have somewhat mapped out in our minds, and by mapping them out even further, creators are laying emotional groundwork for staying more deeply connected in the future.  I'm obsessed with immersive technologies and write extensively about them at CNET; I've been reviewing VR and AR headsets and games for over a decade now. But I'm finding that physical places — like theme parks — can fuel our memories, too, and they begin to blend in strange ways. And that's very much by design. We're living in a hyper-connected state of entertainment, and Epic Universe just feels like the latest, biggest step. "The thirst for things that are live, things that are unpredictable, has only increased now that we're getting all of these franchise-based experiences out there," says Kathryn Yu, co-founder of the Immersive Experience Institute in Los Angeles. "Otherwise, that IP is just a thing that you stream that happens to other people in a little box. The next logical conclusion is, well, I would love to go there." The vast new world of Epic Universe is a lot to take in, even without the crowds there. I visited ahead of its opening, intensely curious about the experiences and the technology and what it would all add up to. I saw the future, and also the past. And what I experienced through a frenzied day was that the details, and surprises, were everywhere.  This was my journey there, in the moment itself and remembered from a distance, filtered through the nostalgia that movies, games and immersive tech fill me with now as I look back. I'm going to walk you through what I encountered and put it all into perspective. In this article: A past full of portals Theme parks have been imagining other worlds for years. Disneyland, which dreamed of a series of worlds visited via connected pathways starting from a central hub — a "hub and spokes" model that's mirrored in most major theme parks now — opened way back in 1955. But in the last couple of decades, the ante has been upped, and upped again. CNET/Zooey LiaoParks have gotten more theme-immersive over time: Universal opened Islands of Adventure in Orlando in 1999, where it created mini lands based on franchises like Jurassic Park, Marvel, Dr. Seuss and Harry Potter.  Disney's Animal Kingdom, also in Florida, started with a theme around animals from various continents. It added Pandora in 2017, a section made to feel like you're walking around the alien world from James Cameron's Avatar movies. Disney also has a Toy Story land at Hollywood Studios, opened in 2018, Star Wars-themed lands in both its California and Florida parks that opened in 2019 and Avengers Campus, which opened at Disneyland in 2021.  In a sense, Epic Universe in Orlando is a park full of these extreme-themed locations, connected like magic portals. Four big places, four familiar and deep wells of movie memories to draw from: Nintendo, How to Train Your Dragon, Harry Potter and classic Universal monsters. Of course, these particular themes are in areas where new movies, games and shows are emerging constantly. A live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie arrives this summer; the Nintendo Switch 2 launches in June; there's a new Harry Potter series for HBO Max that's in the works. These are no accidents. On the other hand, if you have no connection to those intellectual properties, then you might not feel the need to visit. "It becomes kind of a double-edged sword, because you have folks who really love a franchise and will definitely buy a ticket if you're featuring that franchise," says Yu of the Immersive Experience Institute. "And then you have folks who may not be so hot on that, and you still need to appeal to them." Franchises are now made to bleed between film, TV, game and theme park. It's a cross-media world, and our physical presence in a park, playing a role in experiencing something first-hand, can end up making all the other pieces feel more emotionally important. Is there a limit to the immersive theming? Disney hit a wall with Galactic Starcruiser, a multiday self-contained hotel experience that opened in 2022 but closed a year later, something that was aiming high but was way too expensive and too immersive to appeal to many people, not to mention badly timed during a pandemic.Bridget Carey, CNET editor at large and theme park expert, who visited Epic Universe with me last month, experienced the ill-fated Galactic Starcruiser firsthand and felt it was a blend of theme park and video game, but it was an experience that locked you into a commitment — both of time and price.  Large-scale immersive theater experiences aren't always successful, either: Life and Trust, a massive multilevel New York theater event designed to be a spiritual follow-up to the decade-plus run of Sleep No More, closed after only nine months. Yet these types of projects show where immersiveness in parks could expand. "The Starcruiser experience didn't just lean into sci-fi tech for a Star Wars vibe. What made it impressive was the improvisational actors that made the sets and effects more transportive," Carey says. "Universal also is weaving that ingredient into Epic, and I was surprised by the number of human character actors we saw in each land — helping make those robotic dragons and magical creatures have emotional connections with guests."  What's different with Epic compared to how theme parks have already been evolving? In some ways, not as much as you'd think. But it's the more intense focus on immersion, combined with the portals that become the entry gates, that feel new. Universal's marketing is all about wanting you to feel like you're teleporting into these places. (Also, the new rides are a whole lot of fun.) The portal gates are made to feel like they're constructed intentionally, waiting for you to make the leap. And I've felt that portal feeling many times before, at home: in VR, where jumping to other worlds almost feels like a ritual — laying out a play space, opening an app, stepping through. All right. Here we go. Into the portals Celestial Park The entrance to Epic Universe begins with a portal. And it has portals all the way through, to the individual subworlds, and even to worlds within those worlds. It's the theme to the whole park. The entrance is the biggest portal of all, called the "Chronos," and it looks sort of like a stargate. It's also just a familiar entrance gate, adorned with symbols to the worlds that await inside,  something of a steampunk galactic theme. Jeffrey Hazelwood/CNETInside, things are strangely sedate. The first "hub world," Celestial Park, is lovely, beautifully landscaped and chill. So chill that you might wonder where the park excitement is hiding. The gardens and vaguely retrofuture architecture feels a bit like the Star Wars planet Naboo, or even the front part of Epcot that used to be called Future World. There are some rides, but just a few. There's an ornate domed carousel, and an interactive water fountain. There's also the park's best roller coaster, a massive twin beast called Stardust Racers, where two trains appear to race as they barrel roll over each other.  The dual coaster has a design that feels both inspired by the lore of an Atlantis lost world and fantasies of Jules Verne. Look closely and you can find an Easter egg: the flux capacitor from Back to the Future — a Universal property that used to have its own ride — flickers on the back of each coaster car. There's no promise of time travel, but the ride accelerates to speeds that feel as intense as Velocicoaster, Universal's notorious Jurassic World-themed ride. Celestial Park feels like a world between worlds. It's the place where the portals to every other world live. Celestial Park's got a lot of good food, relaxing restaurants and calming fountains. I could see this being the place where Universal has future festivals, pop-up experiences. It's also a centering space, a reset point, a rest stop between dives into other worlds. It clears your mind before you head into the next hyper-immersive place.  "The future of the attractions industry isn't one-size-fits-all. It's about creating moments that feel personal, unforgettable and emotionally resonant, regardless of the scale." Jakob Wahl, president and CEO of IAAPA Are centering places like this key to the future of more intense immersive experiences? In my early days of going to VR installations, there was a big focus on the onboarding process, as well as a decompression space where you'd be able to rest and be in your own thoughts for a while. The more stimulation we have, the more we need a way to remove ourselves from it. "For an immersive spectacle to work, it's really got to be all encompassing, but that also means what's on the outside needs to be thought through, too," says Noah Nelson, founder of the immersive entertainment site No Proscenium. "There's a whole art to path making, and while I'm not sure if we need to go the full 'chill room at the rave' route, there is something to be said for an 'ontological crossfade' from one 'reality' into another." All around the edges of Celestial Park, golden gates beckon with statues stacked on top. These are the other worlds, and entering them, you definitely feel the strong crossfade. Super Nintendo World Coin fountains and castle decorations surround Nintendo's portal, and the moment you head in, you ride an escalator. It's a warp pipe, with light beams shooting off to the sides. Then you're inside a familiar castle, Mushroom Kingdom portraits on the walls. Exiting it, you're looking out at a multilevel vista of moving blocks, Yoshis and bouncing creatures: It looks just like a level map from a Super Mario game.  It's made to overwhelm and dazzle you. The paths seem to go everywhere: down, up, to the sides and who knows where else. You descend into it, sinking into the immersion. Jeffrey Hazelwood/CNETSuper Nintendo World already exists in Universal's Tokyo park and in Universal Studios Hollywood, but Orlando's layout is larger and extends through an additional portal tunnel into a subworld of Donkey Kong that's full of palm trees, banana piles and a mine cart coaster that runs in and out of an ancient temple. That moment in the Super Mario Bros. movie where Mario and Peach go to Donkey Kong's kingdom and see all the looping paths everywhere? It's sort of that feeling, but smaller. If you buy a Power-Up Band ($40) from Universal, you can pair it with your phone and bop it against blocks and surfaces everywhere in the land, unlocking scores in mini games you can track on the Universal app. The bands also work as tappable NFC-enabled Amiibo for the Nintendo Switch, giving unlockable extras. I keep thinking that Nintendo could expand that park-to-Switch relationship further, maybe even with the Switch 2.  There aren't that many rides here, but they are memorable. A calmer Yoshi ride moves slowly around the Mushroom Kingdom's edges, more of a young kid's ride or even a way to take in the vistas without walking. And Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge is also surprisingly slow moving for a racing ride, but it's because you wear augmented reality head visors, tethered to your car, that float images of video game opponents all around you. The goal is to shoot flying turtle shells at opponents by turning your wheel and pressing buttons. The best parts feel like you're almost living inside the game itself — a dark tunnel where Rainbow Road floats.  The tech feels old now compared to home headsets like the Apple Vision Pro or Meta's Quest 3 — it is, since it was made for similar rides back in 2021 — but it's also the only AR ride in this park, or nearly anywhere else. And I think future rides could go a lot further. It reminds me instantly of the remote-control Mario Kart toys that Nintendo made to work with an AR-enabled Switch game called Mario Kart Live, which I drove around my home during the pandemic in 2020. Switch 2 games and connected toys could in the future further expand these rides. The Donkey Kong Mine Cart Madness ride is the best of the bunch: The coaster's hidden ride mechanism makes it seem like you're on cartoonishly broken tracks, but you're not. The cart flies off them, jumping gaps, leaping into space, making what seem like impossible turns, and it's full of surprises. It's not loaded with visible tech: Its magic tricks are subtler.  "The thirst for things that are live, things that are unpredictable, has only increased now that we're getting all of these franchise-based experiences."  Kathryn Yu, co-founder of the Immersive Experience Institute While there are little corners to explore around Super Nintendo World, like extra Power-Up Band challenges and little Nintendo Easter eggs, I want more. I want the Power-Up Band minigames to feel even more game-like. I want crazy levels of extra things to find. Maybe that can still come. Nintendo's rumored to make an expansion to Super Nintendo World, possibly adding a Zelda-themed Hyrule area to time with a future Zelda movie Universal is releasing in 2027. Pokemon is also a rumored expansion focus.  The possibilities seem endless, but the cost and planning of building areas that feel timeless and popular enough to work is a whole other challenge. This space filled with Mario and Donkey Kong echoes lots of existing games, and probably games to come. When I played Donkey Kong Bananza and Mario Kart World on the Switch 2, I couldn't help thinking about Super Nintendo World all over again. And that's clearly the point: They reflect each other. A Photo Tour Inside Epic Universe See all photos Franchises are now made to bleed between film, TV, game and theme park. It's a cross-media world, and our physical presence in a park, playing a role in experiencing something first-hand, can end up making all the other pieces feel more emotionally important. The same way I watch movies about the UK nostalgically after I've traveled there, I watch the Super Mario Bros. movie and play Super Mario games after I visited Epic Universe. "Epic Universe is a powerful example of how immersive storytelling, cutting-edge technology, and bold vision are shaping the future of themed entertainment," says Jakob Wahl, president and CEO of IAAPA, the Global Association for the Attractions Industry. "It reflects a growing demand from guests for deeply integrated, multisensory experiences that transport them into entirely new worlds with characters from some of the world's most popular movies and video games." How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk Entering the portal into the world of How to Train Your Dragon, you're greeted with an expanse of water, massive carved statues and bridges beyond. Wide skies, flying rides: This is the Isle of Berk, and it's full of dragons, water and people roleplaying as characters from the films. It's the most wide-open feeling world in the park, inviting you to seemingly wander in any direction. It's the biggest, and has the most rides and shows, too. Jeffrey Hazelwood/CNETI didn't grow up with these movies, but I could see the crowds who did, and waited in line for a chance to pet a robotic Toothless dragon in a stable. Chances to meet dragons are everywhere: One, puppeted by somebody inside, proudly struts around, guided by Viking handlers.  In one corner, if you're patient, a baby dragon emerges for photo opps: This is Dart, a self-powered robot that's so convincingly animated that it hypnotized me in my tracks — it has a feel similar to Boston Dynamics' robot dogs, but turned into cartoon form. Disney isn't putting free-roaming robots into its parks yet, although it's test-driving Nvidia-powered BD-0 droids that should be making more appearances in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge eventually.  "The BDX droids are just the beginning," Kyle Laughlin, senior vice president at Walt Disney Imagineering, said when the droids were shown off at an Nvidia conference in March, referring to AI advances to come via Google DeepMind and Nvidia. "This collaboration will allow us to create a new generation of robotic characters that are more expressive and engaging than ever before."  Meanwhile, Universal is already doing that with its little Dart appearances. Dart shows the future: animated and free-walking, and acting alongside real human actors that make it feel like the world has come alive.  Drone dragons wheel overhead, too — not during my initial visit, but they'll be there on park opening. Other robotic dragon tails poke out of nests. One ice-breathing dragon pokes its head out from behind a wall.  The dragon moments continue in a lavish show called The Untrainable Dragon, which blends screens and actors and dragons that look like a combination of puppeting and robotics. Toothless wheels overhead during the show, and the emotional scale of it all made me cry.  "For an immersive spectacle to work, it's really got to be all encompassing ... there's a whole art to path making." Noah Nelson, founder of the immersive entertainment site No Proscenium In this land, the rides almost feel secondary. A wheeling, tame sky ride called Dragon Racer's Rally was fine for kids, maybe not worth it for adults. A water-blasting boat ride called Fyre Drill was fun, but similar to a ride I've tried at New York's Legoland. But the family coaster here, called Hiccup's Wing Gliders, is the best thing to try: It's fast, zips over water and around the island, and has other dragons to see. It's a story experience as much as a thrill ride, like Hagrid's Magical Creatures coaster at Universal's Islands of Adventure.Berk doesn't have interactive features like Power-Up Bands or wands, but it has plenty of other merch. It's also, I think, about just feeling happy and free. It feels loose, like a festival. And maybe more of a Disney-type place than any other part of Universal. "The sheer number of dragon animatronics exposed to the outdoors was impressive — both in the ride and peppered across the landscape. But what really amps up the emotion and whimsy is the music from John Powell's soundtrack, which got me bawling happy tears on the coaster," says Carey. "Universal leans hard into movie scores throughout each portal to activate your emotions quickly — which stands out from Disney's choice to use more subtle, natural-sounding background tracks. But I think that's where Epic got it right. People want the music to have that connection." What I remember most from this world, as I portaled back out, was the dragons, whether they were drones, robots or puppets. All of the dragons.  Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic The Harry Potter portal gate leads into a subway exit, with a wall full of French posters. Around a corner, there's a massive arch. And through that arch is a wide city street, shops everywhere, hints of a skyline in the distance. The Ministry of Magic's recreation of 1920s Paris hits me on a grander, more detailed scale than any of the other worlds.  Jeffrey Hazelwood/CNETThe buildings loom high. The city's farther-off attractions poke above rooftops. It feels like we've teleported. Take the previous Wizarding World areas at Universal and imagine them even bigger, and you have this. Windows in storefronts are interactive, if you have a wand you've purchased from a shop. Wave it in a certain pattern to make magical things happen. Finding the windows is a little game in itself. Some windows have interactive paintings that speak to you, too. In the middle of the city square is a circus tent, hosting Cirque Arcanus, a live theater spectacle that looks like it's impossibly tucked into this tent, with an immersive show blending magic tricks and screens. Deeper inside, the main show seems to take place inside the suitcase of Newt Scamander from the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movies. Different creatures emerge from shadows and dimensional windows, made of a mix of high-res displays, puppets, robotics and stage magic.  Down one end of the Paris streets is the only ride: a showstopping experience called the Battle for the Ministry of Magic. We pass through a MetroFloo station, entering yet another portal that flashes green smoke as we end up on the other side in a massive recreation of the Ministry of Magic from the Harry Potter movies, but now in modern-day London. I don't realize until I get home days later and rewatch the movies how spot-on this recreation is: Much like Disney's Rise of the Resistance ride, it feels like you've been beamed right into a film.  The Ministry of Magic ride itself, down endless corridors of talking portraits and interactive details you might linger on during what could be seriously long waits, is an elevator you sit in as it leaps and glides through a journey involving Harry, Hermione, Ron, Dolores Umbridge and things that seem real and virtual at the same time.  "Universal leans hard into movie scores throughout each portal to activate your emotions quickly ... People want the music to have that connection." Bridget Carey, CNET editor at large Universal says this ride has a whole new mechanism technology — it reminds me of both the Gringotts and Forbidden Journey rides at Universal's other parks, but more like you're watching a magical theater experience unfold. It's the most eye-popping ride in the park. I wished I could floo-hop over to the other Wizarding World sections at Universal's other parks. You can't: This park is miles from the others, and misses out on the magic train connection. Dark Universe Through another portal that looks embedded in a gnarled mountain of rocks and roots, we pass into a cemetery, tombstones everywhere, leading to a haunted-looking European village. In some ways the most intimate of the four worlds, this lurking gothic zone, themed to house Universal's classic monsters, feels like a permanent version of Universal's Halloween Horror-themed events.  Jeffrey Hazelwood/CNETThe path snakes around a series of rides and taverns, with details like menacing statues and a cart full of body parts in bottles. You'll see actors here that play various roles: a mad violinist plays a tune and spins through the square. The Invisible Man peers through bandages and insults your intelligence. At The Burning Blade Tavern, a pub at the end of the path that has a burning windmill above it, actors play the roles of monster hunters. The biggest draw here is a decaying mansion that houses Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, a ride that throws all of Universal's monsters into animatronic form. The ride's built on the same arm structure as Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey: You feel like you're being propelled through rooms where werewolves, the Creature From the Black Lagoon, Frankenstein's monster and Dracula battle each other. The vibe is more video game and comic-infused than something truly scary. Still, it's the most animatronics-filled experience in the park — Frankenstein's monster towers above me in the preshow room, stepping forward as if he's about to walk right toward us.  One other roller coaster, Curse of the Werewolf, is weirdly lacking in any actual werewolves, and felt tamer than I expected. And my visit, during the day, didn't seem to fit the horror style of the surroundings.  At night, and with plenty of role-playing actors around, Dark Universe could take on whole new dimensions. This part of the park feels like the biggest leap into an unknown, and could use even more building out to add in extra thrills. But what I felt the most in this subdued, ominous-feeling part of the park was the promise of roleplay. What if I stayed longer and tried to follow the violinist? What if the Invisible Man tried to recruit me for a mission? What does Ygor have to tell me if I seek him out? If I go to the pubs and lurking corners, will I find more mysteries to unravel? As a doorway to the oldest part of Universal's history, could Dark Universe be a permanent way to explore the weird horrors of Halloween all year long? I'd like to stick around here for dinner after dark and see what happens. The future beyond Epic On my way home again, thinking ahead to my next visit around the time of the park's opening day, I wondered about what Epic Universe represents for the future of where amusement parks and immersive entertainment are heading, and what it could also mean for all the games, movies, shows and toys that connect to them. Theme parks are conceived years ahead of time, slowly emerging into completion. Epic Universe is here in 2025, but its ideas were birthed back in 2019 and intended for 2023, delayed because of the pandemic. What we're seeing now is the bleeding edge of large-scale theme parks, but not necessarily a sign of what the future holds.  It's hard to keep large-scale things in business, so I often think about the future of immersive entertainment as coming from smaller productions. There have been a ton of contained immersive ticketed attractions in the last decade that give the I've-been-to-a-park experience, often at a lower cost.  My mind turns to Meow Wolf, a growing collective that makes hallucinatory installations that have mysteries and parts that unlock extras on a phone app. One of Meow Wolf's next locations, in New York, looks to add even more mixed reality and interaction (it's themed like an interdimensional arcade).  Meow Wolf's founders say that smaller indoor spaces can build out higher levels of next-level interaction beyond what Universal or Disney can do.  "We see them as sort of scratching the surface," Meow Wolf's Vince Kladubek tells me, speaking about parks like Epic Universe. "When you have a dedicated indoor space, you have far more possibilities than when you're in an outdoor theme park land. We're really honing in on the capabilities that are now possible when you have a fixed indoor space in bringing this mixed-reality experience forward." "Epic Universe is a powerful example of how immersive storytelling, cutting-edge technology and bold vision are shaping the future of themed entertainment." Jakob Wahl, president and CEO of IAAPA And while these smaller interactive experiences emerge, it's rare to see a completely new theme park open in the US — the last one was Disney's California Adventure in 2001. Disney and Universal have been locked in a back-and-forth competition for decades, one-upping each other with new immersive ideas, licensing deals and park upgrades, but Disney has no new US park planned. Instead, Disney is focused on specific park upgrades — a Monsters, Inc. area for Hollywood Studios, new Cars and Villains lands for Magic Kingdom, an Encanto and Indiana Jones expansion to Animal Kingdom, more Avengers rides at California Adventure. New parks are opening overseas, though: Universal has a UK park in development, and Disney just announced a deal to open a theme park in Abu Dhabi. Universal's next steps beyond Epic are already in the works, but in lots of smaller pieces. A horror-themed permanent Universal attraction, called Universal Horror Unleashed, opens in Las Vegas this August. Its four haunted houses should feel like the ones in Universal's seasonal horror night fests, but year-round. Universal also has a kid-focused, smaller park that's opening in Frisco, Texas next year. "We're seeing

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" The Singapore Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 is inviting guests to sit at the Table of Superdiversity, an alluring reimagining of city-making and nation-building through the universal act of dining, in honor of Singapore's 60th year of independence (SG60).The Pavilion, named RASA-TABULA-SINGAPURA, is a multisensory experience that reinterprets the Latin concept of tabula rasa, or a blank slate. Here, the words RASA (Malay for "taste"), TABULA (Latin for "table"), and SINGAPURA (Sanskrit for "Lion City") come together to symbolize Singapore's unique identity, which has been molded by centuries of migration, trade, and reimagining. The Singapore Pavilion, organized by the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and commissioned by the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore (URA) and the DesignSingapore Council (Dsg), is curated by a multidisciplinary team from SUTD, including Prof. Tai Lee Siang, Prof. Khoo Peng Beng, Prof. Dr. Erwin Viray, Dr. Jason Lim, Asst. Prof. Dr. Immanuel Koh, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sam Conrad Joyce.The Pavilion examines how architecture, policy, and participatory design connect in Singaporeans' daily lives via the curatorial lens of dining, one of the country's most cherished national hobbies. By interacting with the main components that influence Singapore's built environment, RASA-TABULA-SINGAPURA provides guests with a "taste" of the country through a carefully chosen menu of architectural and urban planning projects. While "side dishes" highlight design, policy, and community-building innovations that contribute to Singapore's strength as a multicultural society, "main courses" highlight important developments and districts like Pinnacle@Duxton, a famous public housing development in Singapore that reflects Singapore's innovative approach to urban growth and transformation.Intelligens: Natural. Artificial. Collective, the topic of Biennale curator Carlo Ratti, is reflected and applied to Singapore's setting through the Pavilion's tablescape. The Pavilion aims to convey Singapore's superdiversity by demonstrating how the combination of local and global influences, complex data, and numerous flows of people, goods, ideas, and innovations collectively shape Singapore's distinct identity and the way we rethink the built environment. It does this by building on the Latin word "gens," which means "people," and the word "intelligence.""Illustrating Singapore’s superdiversity, we are highlighting seven ‘main courses’ at RASA-TABULA- SINGAPURA—each offering a taste of how Singapore plans for life at every scale. At Pinnacle@Duxton, we explored vertical living as a framework for superdiversity—where density, design, and innovation come together in the sky," said Prof. Khoo Peng Beng, Co-Curator for the Singapore Pavilion, head of the Architecture and Sustainable Design Pillar at SUTD and a recipient of the President’s Design Award."Moving from single developments to district-scale planning, projects like Tengah and Changi Airport demonstrate how Singapore applies the same design sensibility to shaping entire ecosystems of liveability and movement. These ideas continue through our research and teaching at SUTD, where planning for the future means designing for complexity." "It’s one expression of a city always planning ahead, always becoming,” said Prof. Khoo Peng Beng, Co-Curator for the Singapore Pavilion, head of the Architecture and Sustainable Design Pillar at SUTD and a recipient of the President’s Design Award, Peng Beng added.CapitaSpring, a 280-meter-tall tropical high-rise in the center of Singapore's Central Business District that is a prime illustration of the city's forward-thinking development, is another important example on the dining table. Singapore's Landscaping for Urban Spaces and High-Rises (LUSH) regulation, which mandates that developers replace ground-level greenery with vertical landscapes, is showcased in this biophilic spectacle. The tower's structure incorporates more than 80,000 plants, including a tall, four-story Green Oasis that is 100 meters above the ground and one of the highest in Singapore that is open to the public in business buildings.RASA-TABULA-SINGAPURA makes this urban feast come to life with its interactive installations and lively dining-inspired setting, encouraging visitors to think about how shared perspectives on social, natural, and artificial elements can create spaces that represent common needs, values, and goals. The Pavilion transforms into a live platform where guests can learn how diversity, data, and design come together to create Singapore's changing urban landscape and the interwoven systems that support it."Through thoughtful urban planning and design, we create environments that inspire and support how we live, work, play, and connect. In a land-scarce city like Singapore, we need to balance density, diversity, and design," said Yap Lay Bee, Co-Commissioner of the Singapore Pavilion and Group Director (Architecture & Urban Design) of URA."Planning policies, cultural values, environmental priorities, and community needs are considered and integrated to create and shape spaces that are inclusive, resilient and adaptable.RASA-TABULA-SINGAPURA offers a sensory map of that approach, inviting visitors to experience the thoughtful processes that have shaped our nation’s transformation in the last 60 years." "It is not just a showcase of what we have built, but also a reflection of how we imagine—and continue to reimagine— our future,” Lay Bee added."As a nation by design, Singapore’s socio-economic needs, demographics, policies, and spatial negotiations have guided our urban planning. Such intelligence not only reflects our design-led development for the last 60 years, but will continue to chart the course for our future," said Dawn Lim, Co-Commissioner of the Singapore Pavilion and Executive Director of Dsg. "Centring on the concept of superdiversity, this year’s Singapore Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale showcases how the convergence of unique multicultural differences, collective histories, design and new technology offers opportunities for more inclusive, adaptive urban futures," Lim added.The 19th International Architecture Exhibition will take place from 10 May to 23 November 2025 at the Giardini, the Arsenale and various venues in Venice, Italy. Find out all exhibition news on WAC's Venice Architecture Biennale page. All images: Installation view of the Singapore Pavilion at La Biennale di Architettura di Venezia 2025. Photo © Giorgio Schirato Photography.> via Singapore Pavilion 

Olfactory Design: Spaces That Awaken MemoriesSave this picture!Mi Pan Bakery / Concéntrico. Image © Apertura ArquitectónicaWith each of the more than 23,000 breaths we take per day, air travels through the respiratory system into the lungs, where vital gas exchange occurs: oxygen is absorbed, and carbon dioxide is expelled. This involuntary and essential act also triggers another, less visible but deeply impactful process—our perception of smell. As air passes through the nasal cavity, odor molecules come into contact with olfactory receptors located in the olfactory epithelium. These receptors send signals directly to the olfactory bulb, which is part of the limbic system—the area of the brain linked to memory and emotion. Far from being a secondary sense, smell acts as a direct bridge between the environment and our deepest emotional responses. Scents carry a unique power to evoke vivid memories, elicit comfort or immediate aversion, and influence our emotional state almost instantaneously. Save this picture!This ability of scents to shape spaces, atmospheres, and memories is the foundation of what is known as olfactory design. The primary goal is to provoke emotional responses in physical environments—a sensory strategy gaining traction in architecture, retail, hospitality, and even institutional settings. It goes beyond simply adding fragrance to a space; it involves the intentional selection of scents that align with a place's identity, elicit desired sensations in users, and often reinforce a brand's message or a project's purpose.This aligns with the concept of atmosphere as defined by German philosopher Gernot Böhme, who describes it as a spatial quality perceived sensorially—a diffuse presence that surrounds and affects those within a space. In this context, smell plays a crucial role: unlike vision, which requires focus and direction, olfaction acts diffusely and immersively. It fills the environment in an almost invisible but deeply tangible way, capable of altering mood, triggering memories, and preparing the body for alertness, relaxation, or stimulation. As highlighted in the article Touch It, Smell It, Feel It: Architecture for the Senses, contemporary architecture is increasingly recognizing that space should be experienced with the entire body—not just the eyes.Save this picture!Smell as an Architectural ToolOlfactory design is closely related to sensory design, a field that incorporates all five senses—sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell—into spatial creation. Within this universe, multisensory marketing explores how coordinated sensory stimuli shape consumer perception, create emotional bonds, and influence decision-making. This sensory dimension is also addressed by architect and theorist Juhani Pallasmaa, who in The Eyes of the Skin, critiques the dominance of vision in contemporary architecture and advocates for a design approach that engages all senses. According to him, smell is a fundamental part of spatial experience, capable of evoking memories and emotions with unparalleled intensity. "Architecture evokes memories through smell more than through shape or color," he states.Save this picture!Save this picture!Classic examples illustrate this power: the scent of popcorn in cinemas evokes pleasure and encourages consumption; the smell of fresh bread in supermarkets conveys warmth and increases dwell time; or the universally recognized "new car smell." Scientific studies have also shown that aromas significantly influence human behavior by activating brain areas related to memory, emotion, and decision-making. Pleasant fragrances can extend time spent in commercial spaces, increase purchase intent, and even alter subjective perceptions of temperature, spaciousness, or cleanliness. In healthcare settings, the use of essential oils such as lavender and bergamot has been linked to reduced anxiety and stress relief in preoperative patients, as shown in randomized clinical trials. In offices, subtle fragrances have been correlated with increased concentration, productivity, and general well-being. These findings reinforce the potential of olfactory design as a strategic sensory tool for creating more welcoming, functional, and emotionally resonant environments.In an increasingly overstimulated retail environment, the sense of smell is emerging as a powerful and underutilized channel. Scent branding—the development of exclusive scents to reinforce a brand's identity—aims not only to differentiate but also to create lasting emotional connections with users. Some brands develop custom fragrances that become integral to the experience. Luxury hotels spray their exclusive scents on linens and curtains, creating a memory-laden atmosphere for guests. Airlines infuse specific aromas in cabins to reduce flight stress and enhance comfort. Fashion houses go further, registering proprietary scents as part of their sensory branding toolkit, akin to logos, slogans, or jingles.Save this picture!Save this picture!Technology, Immersion, and ResponsibilityTechnology has enabled increasingly smart and personalized use of scents. Digital diffusers allow for scheduled scent release based on time, crowd density, or room temperature—enhancing both efficiency and impact. Presence sensors, automation systems, and remote control via apps are becoming common in commercial and hospitality spaces. Olfactory design is also entering digital and immersive territories. Virtual reality, sensory exhibitions, and artistic installations have started incorporating scent as a narrative layer. In multisensory experiences, scent is used to intensify immersion, trigger targeted emotions, or signal spatial and temporal transitions.Save this picture!As olfactory design evolves, so do the challenges around sustainability and health. The composition of scents—natural or synthetic—is a critical concern. Natural aromas derived from flowers, woods, and spices are often more sustainable and less aggressive, though they can be expensive and less durable. Synthetic compounds, widely used in industry, offer consistency and control but raise concerns regarding toxicity, environmental impact, and allergic reactions.Save this picture!Save this picture!For these reasons, several countries have enacted regulations limiting the use of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)—substances commonly found in synthetic fragrances—in enclosed environments. These regulations are particularly strict in high-traffic or sensitive locations such as hospitals, schools, and public buildings, where indoor air quality is crucial to occupant health. Olfactory design, in this context, must go beyond the creation of immersive experiences. It must also take into account diverse user profiles, including those with chemical sensitivities or respiratory conditions, and meet technical standards for air quality, safety, and accessibility.Evoking memories, stirring emotions, or reinforcing identity—all of this can be achieved through a single breath. To incorporate smell into the creative process is more than simply adding a fragrance; it is an opportunity to expand architecture beyond shape, color, and light—touching what is most intimate in human experience. Image gallerySee allShow less About this authorEduardo SouzaAuthor••• Cite: Eduardo Souza. "Olfactory Design: Spaces That Awaken Memories" 13 May 2025. ArchDaily. 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