The Monocle Minute
On Design

As we look forward to the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, we plunge into the new Aquatics Centre in the city’s Saint-Denis suburb, shine a light on the Olympic torch design, saunter through Munich’s 1972 Olympiadorf (pictured) and plenty more. But first, here’s Andrew Mueller on how thoughtful design can ensure a lasting legacy for the Games.

The purpose-built Aquatics Centre in Paris’s Saint-Denis suburb is the crowning jewel of an Olympics billed as the most environmentally friendly in modern history. Designed by architects Ateliers 2/3/4/ in collaboration with Amsterdam-based studio VenhoevenCS, the building is next to the Stade de France, where the track-and-field events will take place. The structure’s slender wooden exterior gives it a sense of understated elegance. Inside, timber beams span the ceiling. During the Games, spectators will sit in chairs made from plastic waste collected around Saint-Denis.

The centre also features a curved roof, which is the site of France’s largest urban solar-energy farm and generates 20 per cent of the building’s electricity. After the Olympics, half of the building’s seating will be cleared to make space for a bouldering wall, five-a-side football pitches and padel courts. A pedestrian bridge connects the Aquatics Centre to the Stade de France and surrounding community – which is particularly important given that Saint-Denis has the country’s lowest rate of swimming proficiency.
a234.fr; venhoevencs.nl

A new exhibition exploring sport’s relationship with design has opened at Paris’s Musée du Luxembourg. Curated by Konstantin Grcic, Match: Design & Sport – A Story Looking to the Future shows how efforts to improve athletic performance through innovations in kit, equipment and more can have implications for quality of life well beyond the stadiums and arenas.

A case in point is BioDapt, a hydraulic prosthetic knee and foot created in 2010 by athlete and inventor Mike Schultz that has influenced other artificial-limb designs. Grcic tells Monocle that this shouldn’t be surprising. “Humans will always be at the centre of sport because people make it what it is,” he says. “The fascination with sport is very human.” Other highlights of the show include the JogBra, the first sports-bra prototype, which was created in 1977 by stitching two jockstraps together, and a 3D-printed helmet inlay by POC. Match runs until 11 August.
museeduluxembourg.fr

For more design news from the French capital, pick up a copy of the‘Monocle Paris Edition’ newspaper, which is out now.

French designer Mathieu Lehanneur’s work spans everything from art and architecture to interiors and furniture. In 2023 he was commissioned to design the Olympic torch, which has now passed through thousands of hands on its way to Paris for the Games’ opening ceremony. Here, Lehanneur tells us about the inspiration behind the design and what informed his approach.

How did it feel to be asked to design the Olympic torch?
My first emotions after I received the call were joy and fear. It’s rare to make an object that will be seen by four to five billion people. Then I did the only thing that I knew how to do: I got to work. The design brief from the International Olympic Committee was minimal. There was some information about Paris 2024 and the history of the city’s candidacy, as well as details about the dimensions – it had to be 60cm to 70cm long – and weight, because the torch needed to be light enough for a child to hold. But there was no indication of how it should look. The committee trusted me to provide my own interpretation.

What were your main inspirations?
The notion of equality. For the French, it is part of a motto to live by: liberté, égalité, fraternité. But it also represents the parity between the Olympics and Paralympics, and the male and female athletes. I thought about how to show this through the design and came up with the idea of using symmetrical measurements. For the first time in the history of the Games, the torches for the Olympics and Paralympics are the same. I also considered how to incorporate design cues from the Seine into the finished product. I added a series of ripples to the torch’s base, mirroring the river’s surface. Olympic torches often feature a contextual reference to the host city or country but I didn’t want to create a postcard-style imitation of the Eiffel Tower or another big Parisian monument. So I chose the Seine, which will act as the stage for the opening ceremony on Friday.

What has the reaction to the torch been?
I only became aware of the power and allure of the object once I finished making it. When you show it to people, they are deeply moved and impressed. They ask whether they can touch it, as though it holds a magical power. That’s not down to the design – it’s because of the history of the Olympics. Luckily, I only realised this afterwards. Otherwise, I would have been paralysed by fear when I was commissioned to design it.

For more from designers such as Lehanneur, tune in to ‘Monocle on Design’ on Monocle Radio.

Uniforms for the Olympic Games are an opportunity for countries to show off their sartorial talent. This year, Czechia’s outfit, designed by Prague-based Jan Cerny, comprises an oversized coat inspired by graphic artist Vladimir Boudniki, a polo shirt, trousers and glass amulets (pictured, right) made by Czech manufacturer Lasvit. The uniform is a bold reinterpretation of the national colours of white, red and blue.

The amulets are handcrafted in the shape of the leaf of Czechia’s national tree, the linden, and are a celebration of the country’s glass-making tradition. For Lasvit, which is based in Nový Bor, the amulets create a tangible connection between the athletes and their home nation. This elegant, symbolic piece of design will be showcased for the first time at the opening ceremony on Friday.
lasvit.com

In 1966 the Olympics’ international design committee handed US graphic designer Lance Wyman the daunting task of branding the entirety of the 1968 Games in Mexico City. Though the choice of a non-Mexican for the job was initially met with suspicion, his outsider’s perspective helped him to identify what made the country so visually striking. His gaze settled on the bold geometric lines and primary colours that were then prominent in the nation’s contemporary art.

Wyman’s Olympic torch was the three-dimensional embodiment of the branding that had been unveiled in the lead-up to the event, from postage stamps to stadium entrances. Its sleek steel lines echoed Wyman’s typeface; the flame was cradled by a piece of metal at the top bearing the words “Mexico 68”. This singular work became a symbol of an Olympics of many firsts. It was the Games’ debut in Latin America – and Enriqueta Basilio Sotelo used the torch to light the Olympic cauldron, becoming the first woman ever to do so.

When cities splash out on infrastructure to host the Olympics, the Games’ legacy is often an afterthought. As a result, many Olympic villages and venues end up underused or even abandoned. A notable exception is Munich’s Olympiadorf (or Olydorf), which was built on a former airfield for the 1972 Games. The verdant neighbourhood’s houses and apartment blocks are now among the Bavarian capital’s most sought-after addresses.

Much of the Olydorf’s success comes down to its graphic design and well-considered wayfinding. German designer Otl Aicher developed easily comprehensible pictogram signage and a colour concept of bright blues, greens and pinks, which earned the Games the nickname die Regenbogenspiele (“the Rainbow Games”). You can still spot Aicher’s colours on doorways, street signs and postboxes, as well as his pictograms, which give a good indication of how many of the sports facilities remain in use. Olydorf shows how Olympics-related investment can help to keep people healthy and happy in the long run – even decades after the flame has gone out.

For more on the legacy of Munich’s 1972 Games, pick up a copy of Monocle’sJuly/August issue, which features a full report on the city’s Olympic village today.