Potrichor
A plant pot that recreates the smell of rain (petrichor) at home with a few presses of a button.
In modern urban life, nature is often reduced to fragments—distant parks, filtered daylight, and brief glimpses of green between concrete.
As everyday environments become increasingly urban, those small moments of natural comfort start to matter even more.
Design Opportunity
Houseplants support mental well-being. While they are easy to see and touch indoors, one of the most calming natural aromas, the scent of rain interacting with the nature, is largely absent from the urban environment.
Could we recreate the scent of rain (petrichor) to deepen people’s connection with the nature and create moments of calm and restoration at home?
How is petrichor produced in the nature?
Replicating Petrichor
To explore how petrichor could be recreated at home, hands-on testing was conducted with different soil mixtures.
Finding:
Petrichor can be recreated at home using the right soil mixture and artificial rain, such as water misting.
The following soil combination was found to help creating a balance between petrichor production and plant health.
Concepts
The concepts below explore designs that integrate mist spray into a plant pot and different ways to allow users to easily experience petrichor by activating the spray.
The final design draws inspiration from environments where petrichor is commonly experienced: a tranquil mountain lake shrouded in fog after a light rain.
The plant pot features a gradient that transitions from forest tones to misty fog, with a water reservoir at the base representing the lake.
Final Design
Potrichor
A plant pot that recreates petrichor (the smell of rain) with a few presses of a button.
A Few Presses,
a Breath of Petrichor
An interaction drawn from applying perfume, pressing the button located on the front of potrichor will activate petrichor.
The nozzles ensure the soil surface can get full coverage from the tiny water droplets.
Triggered by the button, the 4 nozzles attached on the pot draw water from the reservoir beneath the pot and spray water mist to the top soil layer, simulating rain to produce petrichor.
Minimum Care,
Maximum Petrichor
The water reservoir at the bottom allows cotton wick watering and supplies water for the mist nozzles.
Petrichor is strongest when water droplets hit dry soil. Bottom watering helps to keep the soil on the top stay dry, producing maximum petrichor each time the button is pressed.
Designed for Manufacturability
A crucial aspect of the design process was to ensure petrichor is designed to meet manufacturing standards. All components are designed to fit together without metal hardwares.
Taking apart pumps to understand their mechanical design and assembly methods.
By seamlessly integrating with your existing houseplants,
Potrichor brings you one step closer to nature.
