Shortlist

Shortlisted Entry 1

P12 Ian Ritchie Architects - Silhouette

Team: Ian Ritchie Architects, Jane Wernick Associates and Ann Christopher, Sculptor

Producing a dynamic silhouette, the pylon exaggerates its reach to the sky, sometimes appearing as a full black lance and other times as a thin sliver, like a single brushstroke on a canvas. The pylon becomes an animated character in the landscape… part of a series or pattern… while the convex exterior skin reflects its surroundings. The landscape exists within the pylon as the pylon exists within the landscape.

Comments (1922)
Comments
DECC commented on 09-Sep-2011 02:24 PM
testing comments
Sam commented on 14-Sep-2011 03:18 PM
'If the wind comes from an empty cave, it's not without a reason.'
Anonymous commented on 14-Sep-2011 03:43 PM
This is a slim, uncluttered and beautiful design. I would love to see this design instead of the two traditional structures I look out on each day from my bedroom window. This far surpasses the other five designs in its simplicity and unobtrusive appearance.
Anonymous commented on 14-Sep-2011 03:46 PM
Scuppered by 3 words - Visual Impact Assessment
jf commented on 14-Sep-2011 03:46 PM
This image is meaningless, where are the conductors and the insulators? Is there a problem with the photo?
Anonymous commented on 14-Sep-2011 04:01 PM
My favourite aesthetically. Number 4 is pretty but looks a bit dated.
Anonymous commented on 14-Sep-2011 04:32 PM
absolutely love the idea of the silhouette and the clean crisp simplicity. far stronger than the others in my opinion which seem fussy, bulky or too much of a purely formal response.
Anonymous commented on 14-Sep-2011 05:28 PM
This entry seems to be the only one that really grasped that a pylon does not stand alone, but in a series. LOVE it.
RF commented on 14-Sep-2011 05:33 PM
Such an elegant response. Not trying to be in your face but rather being sensitive to its surroundings. No ego, just poetics. Good work!
Peter Clarke commented on 14-Sep-2011 05:36 PM
'the pylon exaggerates its reach to the sky' who writes this rubbish? Not a good picture as we can't see the wires or very much of what is holding them up. Just looks like telegraph poles. Much better to put the cables under ground or do away with the
need all together.
Anonymous commented on 14-Sep-2011 05:47 PM
not exactly accessable or easy to maintain though is it... looks like its just one piece, so if it gets damaged at all you have to replace the entire thing... also, how will it hold two circuits far enough apart so that they dont arc across to each other?
Anonymous commented on 14-Sep-2011 06:01 PM
This image is awful, there's a better one on The Sun website! http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3814240/Comp-organisers-pylon-the-pressure-to-find-greener-designs.html
alex commented on 14-Sep-2011 06:05 PM
A missleading image as "jf" says. Looks like an imposible design as cross arms are almost invisible!
Anonymous commented on 14-Sep-2011 06:06 PM
This is my favorite by far. We have to remember that these are not stand alone elements but will be seen in lines crisscrossing the countryside. This one is extremely elegant - simple but dynamic. The others are visually much too busy.
Anonymous commented on 14-Sep-2011 06:23 PM
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2011/sep/14/shortlist-designs-electricity-pylons-in-pictures
gregory brown commented on 14-Sep-2011 08:33 PM
Listen to Chris' comments. Drowned out by traffic noise you cant hear the wires 'singing'. Try living near one. It not an impact assessment that is required. There is no need for any of these suspended cables in this day and age. Put them underground -
even Chris says it can be done - SO WHY DONT YOU DO IT??
Ed commented on 14-Sep-2011 08:41 PM
A nice design but again maintenance would be difficult without a mobile platform. There appears to be no shield wire so lightning risk to the circuit would be high. @ Gregory, Undergrounding is possible but more expensive and itself not without environmental
impact. Technically, there are some major challenges with undergounding cables at high AC voltages for long distance power transfer (the voltages we use in towns and cities are a lot lower and we don't have the same technical issues).
Anonymous commented on 14-Sep-2011 08:43 PM
This design is easily the best out of the contenders
Anonymous commented on 14-Sep-2011 09:41 PM
It wont be that elegant once the cross arms, insulators etc... are on it. If you want elegant then look at this. - http://bit.ly/5y4bgL
Anonymous commented on 14-Sep-2011 11:52 PM
simple, beautiful and perfect for the uk landscape. my favourite!
PSmith commented on 15-Sep-2011 12:09 AM
Really love this one! Hope to look out of my window and see this one day.
Anonymous commented on 15-Sep-2011 07:23 AM
Is it really a good idea to have parts of a pylon structure that are transparent, and so semi-invisible? I can understand that many people would like not to see them at all, but I can imagine risks to light aircraft etc.
Anonymous commented on 15-Sep-2011 08:11 AM
Not sure the wires would be this invisible. If they were would lots of birds fly into them?
Anonymous commented on 15-Sep-2011 08:35 AM
I think this picture is a bit misleading. Dont think an actual installation will make even the wires and much of plyon infrastructre invisible. So I doubt if this design has properly taken the reqiured technical hardware into account.