orakel0eng

"ORACLE"
Proposal for Thor Heyerdahl High School, Larvik, 2007
(Larvik Municipality)

Oracle is a big sphere that transmits reflected light to the darker parts of
the building. It is to be located on the open stairway landing between the
second and third floors.

Oracle has an inner life that contrasts to its local reflections. Inside the
sphere there is a large globe. When lit from the inside, the mirrors stop
working as mirrors and reveal the glowing globe. A computer program
that converts information into light pulses can change the sphere into an
information bank, where each country is recognizable, and can give
specific information. If, for instance, you want to see where in the world
people have adequate drinking water, different countries light up with
different intensities according to how much water there is and plotted
statistics.

All study majors, classes, project teams and individuals can use the
oracle. Information can be stored for later use while the globe returns to
being a mirror ball. But when we know what the sphere holds, we can not
easily walk past it admiring our own reflection in the mirror.
Being a student at a high school is to balance the intimate, reflective
discovery of oneself and one's potential while at the same time becoming
inextricably tied to the world at large.