The future of sport with tech and data, according to Grcic

This article was originally published on Domus 1091.

As a boy, he obsessively studied catalogues of sports equipment, fascinated by its design combining energy, beauty, technology and functionality. “It would be true to say that sport was my first design teacher,” says Konstantin Grcic, curator of “Match: Design & Sport – A Story Looking to the Future”.

At the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris (until 11 August), the show was conceived to coincide with the Olympic and Paralympic Games that the city is hosting this summer. The idea is not only to explore the changes that design and technology have brought to sport, but to see what factors are most influencing its evolution. 

“Match” is an ambitious and unexpected exhibition that developed in Grcic’s mind as he searched for objects from the past and present that would portray the relationship between sport and design. “Throughout the history of sports, design has created lighter, safer, stronger, performance enhancing products for athletes. Design has also helped sports become more inclusive through the development of prostheses as well as the creation of virtual games like eSports,” he says.

Konstantin Grcic

 The exhibition will display the results of this two-way exchange – aesthetically pleasing objects and materials that serve various incredible functions – but also much more: evidence of the shift from the design of physical equipment to the development of something intangible, namely opportunities unlocked by data analysis, which experts claim will play a more important role in innovation than materials.

“Match” has selected 150 historical pieces, icons, commercial products, prototypes, models, drawings, prints, films and applications. But according to Grcic, four are key to understanding the addressed themes. Firstly there is Myron’s Discobolus, a sculpture created around 460-450 BCE depicting the heroic ideal of the athlete, an archetype that is still topical but is deconstructed in the show.

Then there is the replica of the original JogBra, the 1977 sports bra associated with freedom, safety and increased performance for women. Thirdly, the 3D-printed helmet, which illustrates how production and design have evolved through technology. Lastly speedgate, a new AI-designed field game.

Opening image: Match, Design & Sport - A story looking to the future, Musée du Luxembourg, Paris. Photo Sarah Vervisch