60,000-square-foot facility combines office, laboratory, and manufacturing space in support of Osmo’s mission to digitize the sense of smell
Elizabeth, NJ – KSS Architects, a full-service architecture, interior design, and planning firm, is pleased to announce the completion of Osmo’s new, 60,000-square-foot headquarters in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The state-of-the-art facility marks the company’s first dedicated production site, combining office, laboratory, and manufacturing space to support Osmo’s mission of digitizing the sense of smell to improve human health and well-being.
Founded by Alex Wiltschko, Osmo uses machine learning to digitize scent and revolutionize olfactory science through its groundbreaking Olfactory Intelligence. The space is designed with future expansion in mind, incorporating a flexible architectural framework that is meant to evolve alongside Osmo’s rapidly advancing technology.
“Osmo’s innovative work of translating one of our most human senses into a digital language demands a space as ambitious as the company itself,” said Scot Murdoch, AIA, Partner, KSS Architects. “Our design draws directly from the science of scent, using ideas of concentration, mixing, and dissipation to shape how people gather and move through the space.”
The design balances the site’s existing industrial concrete structure with organic materials, tactile fabrics, natural wood, and abundant daylight. Lighting is strategically choreographed throughout the facility, evoking dissipated scent molecules across open ceilings in social and circulation areas, then sharpening into concentrated, directional zones within laboratories and manufacturing spaces. Existing windows are leveraged to draw daylight deeper into the interior, while a walking path along Newark Bay opens views toward the water and connects staff to the surrounding landscape.
Planters are placed throughout the space and built into stacked, “stadium” seating located in the breakout room and café, and open sightlines between offices, labs, and shared spaces foster cross-disciplinary collaboration and create room for the facility to grow alongside Osmo’s research.
“This facility is the physical embodiment of what we’re building, a place where the science of smell and the technology to digitize it can happen under one roof, at scale,” said Alex Wiltschko, Founder and CEO of Osmo. “The team took the time to truly understand the science, and it shows in the design. We’re proud to call Elizabeth home, and this space gives us everything we need to keep pushing the frontier of olfactory intelligence forward”
The project was delivered in partnership with Bridge Industrial and Elberon Development Group as ownership. Rock Brook led the engineering design for mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and information technology and security systems. The KSS team included Scot Murdoch, AIA, Partner; Jennie Himler, RA, Associate; Colleen Grogan Bajda, NCIDQ, Associate; Mariela Hernandez, RA; and Shelby Ulrich, NCIDQ.
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