Now open: Norway’s pavilion at London Design Biennale

Now open at London’s Somerset House, London Design Biennale is a global championing of design’s ability to solve vital problems, comment on society’s ills and to truly move us. No better is this demonstrated than in the two projects that Zetteler has been supporting this year: Norway’s presentation of ground-breaking products making learning more inclusive and breaking down isolation, and Flynn Talbot ’s light-filled celebration of the legalisation of gay marriage in Australia for its country pavilion.

Curated by Design and Architecture Norway (DOGA), Norway’s interactive exhibition features two companies using emerging technology to improve the lives of learners across the board, from small children to those taking exams in the workplace. The first, AV1 by No Isolation, is a telepresence robot that connects children with long-term illnesses or lengthy hospital stays with their classmates. Developed in collaboration with children, teachers, families an the Norwegian Cancer Society, the cute little robot is fitted with a camera, speaker and microphone means that children can learn with their mates, and stay in touch with the social goings on of the classroom.

The second project is Kahoot!, an inclusive virtual gaming platform that allows educators to create learning games and game-show like quizzes on any topic they can dream up. These can be answered individually or in teams using a central screen and mobile devices or at home as single-player homework games.  Students can make their own games to aid their revision and you can battle players from all over the globe. It’s been so successful that it’s now used in more than 180 countries.

As well as spreading the news about these two important, inventive projects, Zetteler has made a film about Flynn Talbot’s Full Spectrum installation for the Australian pavilion. Featuring a structure made from a rainbow of 150 strands of fibre optic cable, each one in a different hue, the impressive spectacle celebrates the legalisation of gay marriage in Australia which passed last year. You can watch the film below.

Read more about how Norway is using new technology to tackle social isolation and make learning more fun in this in-depth feature.