Abstract
This paper extends cosmopolitical prototyping into the olfactory domain to examine how smell can operate as a diplomatic device for interspecies coexistence. Building on a longitudinal, autoethnographic research through design project, we report multi session fieldwork with two captive pumas—Huilo (older, methodical) and Maqui (younger, playful)—at Refugio Animal Cascada, Chile. The study sought not to apply enrichment as an external fix, but to co constitute a situated more than human we in which animal, designer, materials, climate and infrastructures jointly stage conditions for safe relationality. We designed textile olfactory braids (reused cotton braids and burlap sachets) infused with botanicals (e.g., lavender, hibiscus, rose; rue, parsley, cilantro, rosemary) and deliberately excluded food rewards to avoid prey without prey frustration and to privilege curiosity led engagement. Braids were mounted on the shared boundary fence, intentionally leveraging it as an interface that both separates and enables contact.
Keywords
more than human design, olfactory enrichment, cosmopolitical prototyping, animal welfare, research through design, ontological diplomacy
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1333
Citation
Mora, M., and Hermansen, P. (2026) Olfactory prototyping as diplomatic device: Codesigning a MorethanHuman ‘Us’ with two captive pumas, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1333
Creative Commons License
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Included in
Olfactory prototyping as diplomatic device: Codesigning a MorethanHuman ‘Us’ with two captive pumas
This paper extends cosmopolitical prototyping into the olfactory domain to examine how smell can operate as a diplomatic device for interspecies coexistence. Building on a longitudinal, autoethnographic research through design project, we report multi session fieldwork with two captive pumas—Huilo (older, methodical) and Maqui (younger, playful)—at Refugio Animal Cascada, Chile. The study sought not to apply enrichment as an external fix, but to co constitute a situated more than human we in which animal, designer, materials, climate and infrastructures jointly stage conditions for safe relationality. We designed textile olfactory braids (reused cotton braids and burlap sachets) infused with botanicals (e.g., lavender, hibiscus, rose; rue, parsley, cilantro, rosemary) and deliberately excluded food rewards to avoid prey without prey frustration and to privilege curiosity led engagement. Braids were mounted on the shared boundary fence, intentionally leveraging it as an interface that both separates and enables contact.