Design for one and all (Norwegian Arts) | Katie Treggiden Skip to content

Design for one and all (Norwegian Arts)

This article was written 8 years ago.

Photography by Ingvild Aarseth / DOGA

All copy as provided to the publication.

As the first London Design Biennale draws to a close, we take a look at Norway’s contribution, Reaching for Utopia – Inclusive Design in Practice, and find out why inclusive design is an idea the world needs to know about.

Throughout September, London’s Somerset House played host to 37 countries all responding to the theme of Utopia by Design. Contributions varied wildly from the conceptual (Albania’s Bliss – “a concentric arrangement of stainless steel columns and benches designed to encourage self-reflection and solidarity”) to the emotional (France’s Le Bruit des Bonbons — The Astounding Eyes of Syria shared memories of Syria through film) to the downright surreal (Cadavre Exquis: an Anatomy of Utopia was Poland’s 3D version of the children’s game ‘consequences’ first introduced by the Surrealist movement).

The country that seemed to have taken the brief most seriously was Norway. And perhaps that’s because the nation is taking the idea of using design to create a better world seriously. In 2005, 16 Norwegian ministries signed a binding action plan based on the government’s vision for Norway’s entire infrastructure to be created according to the principles of ‘inclusive design’ by 2025. “We have to keep the momentum now that we are halfway there,” says Åse Danbolt of property company Statsbygg – the government’s key advisor in construction. “This requires systematic work, clear governance and goals and projects that are well anchored at management level.” Reaching for Utopia – Inclusive Design in Practice showcased a number of such projects already delivering lasting social benefits.

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Katie Treggiden is also the founder and director of Making Design Circular — an international membership community and online learning platform for environmentally conscious designers, makers, artists and craftspeople.
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