Design Museum in London opens 'Designed to Win'
To coincide with the 2012 Olympic Games, this summer London's Design Museum is organizing the Designed to Win exhibition exploring the role of design in sport and the way it has pushed athletes' performance to new limits. From Formula One racing cars to running shoes and racing bikes, the exhibition shows off designers' quest to enhance performance.
By selecting key moments in the history of sports, the exhibition explores safety, performance, technology, new materials and fashion. The selected elements demonstrate how design innovations have made athletes faster, stronger and fitter. Designed to Win also explores how design has revolutionized opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in sports. Furthermore, the exhibition explores how sports have influenced design, art and culture.
On display are famous objects such as the Lotus Type 108, an Olympic individual pursuit bicycle. The revolutionary design includes an advanced aerofoil cross-section which uses a carbon composite monocoque. The success of the design was demonstrated when Bryan Steel was able to improve his time by five seconds in the two-kilometer pursuit at an international race meeting in Leicester. The Lotus was first raced in an Olympic competition in Barcelona 1992, setting a new world record of 4 minutes and 24.496 seconds.
Also on display is the new Speedo FastSkin3 racing system (suit and goggles) introduced by Michael Pelps and Rebecca Adlington last December. The design, to be used by the athletes in London 2012, includes full body passive drag reduction of up to 16.6 percent. The system provides an 11 percent improvement in the swimmer's oxygen economy, boosting hydrodynamic efficiency and comfort.
Designed to Win
Design Museum, London
July 26 - November 18
http://designmuseum.org/
