Evgeny Rosenblum’s ‘Open Form’

An essential methodology developed by the Central Educational and Experimental Studio ‘Senezh’, established in 1964 under the patronage of the Union of Artists, was that of Open Form. In accordance with Oskar Hansen’s concept of Open Form, Evgeny Rosenblum, the founder of the studio and its principal theorist and educator, introduced his own concept of Open Form into the domains of design and architecture.
Rosenblum (1919–2000) actively encouraged designers to challenge the limitations of modernism’s standardised objects and white cube spaces by embracing a more open approach. He held the conviction that visualising the internal structure of an object facilitated the discovery of design solutions that prioritised the human experience.
In contrast to the modernist aesthetic of ‘destroying the past’, Rosenblum argued in favour of an open structure that can be built around or easily combined with existing historical forms, both in environmental and product design. Instead of focusing on monofunctional design, he believed that designers should create versatile systems of objects that could be easily customised to suit individual needs. From this perspective, users become co-creators, thereby rendering the design process an infinitely more ‘open’ process.
With the Open Form methodology, Rosenblum attempted to establish a method that would enable the simultaneous development of the work’s technical and creative aspects.