Aesthetic theorists, for example, often have recourse to the notions of ‘completeness’ and ‘openness’ in connection with a given work of art. These two expressions refer to a standard situation of which we are all aware in our reception of a work of art: we see it as the end product of an author’s effort to arrange a sequence of communicative effects in such a way that each individual addressee can refashion the original composition devised by the author...In this sense the author presents a finished product with the intention that this particular composition should be appreciated and received in the same form as he devised it... the individual addressee is bound to supply his own existential credential, the sense conditioning which is peculiarly his own, a defined culture, a set of tastes, personal inclinations, and prejudices. Thus, his comprehension of the original artifact is always modified by his particular and individual perspective. In fact, the form of the work of art gains its aesthetic validity precisely in proportion to the number of different perspectives from which it can be viewed and understood. These give it a wealth different resonances and echoes without impairing its original essence; a road traffic sign, on the other hand, can be viewed in only one sense, and, if it is transfigured into some fantastic meaning by an imaginative driver, it merely ceases to be that particular traffic sign with that particular meaning. A work of art, therefore, is a complete and closed form in its uniqueness as a balanced organic whole while at the same time constituting an open product on account of its susceptibility to countless different interpretations which do not impinge on its unadulterable specificity. Hence, every reception of a work of art is both an interpretation and a performance of it, because in every reception the work takes on a fresh perspective of itself.

- Umberto Eco, The Open Work. p. 3

The open workshop is a multidisciplinary design collaborative focused on critically re-examining the concept of an open work, first posited by Umberto Eco in 1962.  As cities, beliefs, and values become increasingly pluralistic; the open work forms a template for providing openness to a work, thus making it designed for no one specifically and everyone simultaneously.  Images, spaces and cities are conceived to allow each individual citizen to project the final pieces of meaning and complete the work.

Director of Film: Ariana Andrei
Director of Architecture & Urbanism: Neeraj Bhatia