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 (17633)
Comments
Alex commented on 21-Sep-2011 09:31 AM
Looking closely at it, it would seem it is fabricated as a single piece. So how the heck are you going transport it to some of the remote locations new Pylons are going to need to go, helicopter?? Further, it would mean a significantly higher load on cranes
(particularly as it is likely to catch wind) and somehow this crane would need to reach the location. As plenty of others have said, maintenance is likely to be an issue as well.
Anonymous commented on 21-Sep-2011 11:56 AM
Put the cables underground; we don't want your eyesores spoiling our countryside for the sake of the useless wind farms. Power company employee.
Anonymous commented on 21-Sep-2011 01:14 PM
I like the look of this one; sleek and low impact on the surroundings.
Pat commented on 21-Sep-2011 01:21 PM
If the cables have to go overhead, then this appears to be the pylon design that's most unobtrusive... But I'd like to see a row of them to appreciate how much they would blend in with the background. Clearly the convex skin is crucial - how much maintenance
would be required for this skin to maintain its reflective qualities?
Anonymous commented on 21-Sep-2011 01:49 PM
The conductors are unbalanced. better to have 4 conductors on the bottom arm and 2 on the top arm. Whats the foundation going to look like?
daifromwales commented on 22-Sep-2011 08:11 AM
Like all the shortlisted designs, this will be too flexible in the wind unless it has far more material than the current design. It will also need a single, intrusive, permanent deep pile foundation that will be vastly more expensive than the simple pad
foundations of existing designs. So: it may be pretty, but it will never be mass produced.
Anonymous commented on 22-Sep-2011 11:58 AM
design would be very unstable as a terminal or tension tower without deep foundations.
Anonymous commented on 23-Sep-2011 02:05 PM
My least favourite of the bunch. The last thing the countryside needs is a black lance jutting out of it at regular intervals. It's appearance is almost hostile-feeling. From the picture it also seems to attract the eye rather than blend in with the landscape.
Dave S commented on 23-Sep-2011 02:13 PM
Presentation looks good but difficult to scale height and mass from the image. Add insulators and wires plus bulbs at christmas and the thing could look like a Xmas tree
leedsmike commented on 23-Sep-2011 04:00 PM
I like it best of all submitted but, alongwith many others, I have concerns that the final design will be far clunkier. I hope the specialists will not have allowed an entry that did not meet the engineering requirements. I also agree with the suggestion
that it would look better with 2 conductors above 4.
Nick commented on 23-Sep-2011 05:37 PM
A stunning piece of design - for photographers who go out of their way to photoshop the current pylons out of their photographs (in landscape or portrait work) I can see a lot of photographers making a feature of 'silhouette' in future landscape photography.
Anonymous commented on 25-Sep-2011 06:10 AM
Good design simple and beautiful
Deon commented on 27-Sep-2011 10:05 AM
I think the P12 design is certainly the most promising of all, as it enables the structure to interact with the landscape. However, burying cables would be the best option if cost and infrastructure allowed.
Ella commented on 27-Sep-2011 11:37 AM
I love this! It's original, classy and extremley appropriate for this day and age!
sncfian commented on 27-Sep-2011 01:15 PM
This is the only design that both appears fit for its purpose and yet does not impose itself upon the landscape
Paul Griffiths commented on 28-Sep-2011 12:40 PM
My number two choice. Stylish and functional and not prone to dating. More or less arms could easily be incorporated as required and would not upset the design flow methodology. Hieght is easily scaled. An overall practical and visually different concept
! I would like to know what the difference in wind resistance is from the outside curved side to the open inside curved side - is this an issue ?
Steven Timms commented on 29-Sep-2011 09:15 AM
No. As a spike this looked good in Richie's Dublin 'needle'. But with the arms it makes no sense. The engineering to make it work is in the realms of one-off sculpture. Too expensive, too self-conscious. I don't consider this is a serious design.
andyc commented on 29-Sep-2011 12:53 PM
Invisibilty is the key and this one has the edge over the other entries, although there needs to be consideration given to the forces on this cantilever
Mark commented on 29-Sep-2011 09:27 PM
Still the same old hang-dog hunched-back appearance with suspended wires. The wires should be held aloft from upward pointing arms to give a positive stance. Fail.
Geoff Hilton commented on 30-Sep-2011 09:06 PM
Slim and effective: could become an icon for high Status lines, with 4 and 6 for lesser lines. Pylonology will be the next Collector craze.
patles commented on 01-Oct-2011 02:22 AM
I think this one is the best... Definitely my favourite.
Tollys commented on 03-Oct-2011 12:12 PM
Pylons should only be used where there is no alternative to undergrounding, 'undergrounding where possible' leaves too much flexibility in the approach. Only then should the least visible pylons be used - and this design seems to achieve that.
Christopher Hartley commented on 04-Oct-2011 03:16 PM
When designing these entries, it would appear that more has been placed on form rather than function. Maintenance is a big issue and the best way of doing it is not with MEWPS. As for undergrounding, technical issues put to one side, I'm sure we'd all
love to pay our share of an 18 fold increase in the cost of undergrounding large swathes of 400kV cable. On top of that there would be great chunks of land (upto 60 wide) that couldn't be used due to the cables.
Sangeeta Squires commented on 05-Oct-2011 10:26 AM
A bit too much like Blade Runner. Impressive sight but perhaps overbearing for the country side.
KR commented on 05-Oct-2011 12:55 PM
I like this one best. It is simple and uncluttered and looks functional.