travelling theory | open form by ania molenda
‘weak will open, strong is closed’ Oskar Hansen ' s legacy
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Image courtesy of Igor Hansen (from the archive of Oskar Hansen)
Oskar Hansen presents his theory of ‘open form’ at the AICA Congress in Wroclaw in 1975
Often the term ‘weak’ is considered to have a negative meaning – inferior, insufficient, lacking in character and quality. Open can similarly be thought of as inconclusive or unclear. Therefore openness can also be considered as a sign of weakness. But all these connotations seem to belong to a paradigm where the ability to dominate is based on power and strength. Today however, weak and open but smart systems may be ever more powerful. This may sound obvious, but only in theory. Openness (in its positive sense) has successfully entered many disciplines, but architecture is still not at home with it. Oskar Hansen (1922-2005), Polish architect, theorist and artist, understood this and strongly believed that ‘open form’ should be practiced in architecture. 1 He claimed that it should replace the dominating presence in the built environment of what he called the ‘closed form’. For Hansen, ‘closed form’ represents domination and patriarchal structures, and ‘open form’ represents democracy or matriarchal structures. His theory proves to be surprisingly timely, but it still remains largely unknown to a broad international audience.
1 This article will not include any deeper analysis of Hansen’s work, its theoretical or practical critique. It introduces the basic concept of ‘open form’ that Hansen developed throughout his entire career and hint at why it is still interesting today.
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