Shortlist

How does this design (Design 6) prevent unauthorised people climbing the pylon?

My second choice. A long way behind number 4, but a long way ahead of all the others

Agree with Martin. This is my second choice behind number 4.

Where are the insulators? This tower will howl at the world when the wind hits at the right angle. The lattice concept is the correct one but remember the devil will be in the detail.

The ugliest one, I might have liked it better if the pillar was squared instead of rounded. Also looks like people could climb it easily.

My second choice aswell behind number 4 looks really nice

The benefit of this design is that it disappears into the background because of the lattive work pylons. Good for minimising visual intrusion in sensitive areas.

difficult one this, there are definately issues with access by unauthorised parties, but those issues already exist with current tower structures.

Probably the ugliest of a fairly ugly bunch. Visually intrusive because of the diameter of the column and making it a lattice makes this worse rather than better as it is more disruptive than a solid tower. Just like the recent trend to use lattice for
road signs instead of solid poles, much worse visual impact. I expect that in addition to the visual disturbance, these towers will sing at various wind speeds. So if our engineering problem solving capabilities are so weak that we can't avoid pylons, lets
at least not have this design.

To be honest the climbing guards on current pylons would not stop someone who wanted to climb up - it's a little bit of barbed wire. You may snag your clothes but you wouldn't do yourself major harm. Interesting that this design polarises opinion more
than the others. @JF - the cross-arms in this design are constructed from composites and therefore insulating. A company is trialling this technology in Scotland at present.

Is anyone seriously suggesting one of these designs is better than another? Travel the world and you will see many designs of pylons - none are attractive. Put the cables underground, in a few years you wouldn't know they were there. By the time these
new ones are implemented they will no longer be required. This is a distribution legacy from the 1940's. The push now is towards localised production and consumption which also takes the cost out of the distribution network. I predict the dismantling of the
high voltage distribution network as it no longer fits with current trends. Local networks, local production and consumption will lead to lower prices. The major losses are in the high voltage networks. Electricity is already three times the price of gas but
it is made from gas so the cost is in distribution. The demand for power is clear but high voltage distribution is not the way forward.

Really love it! The design makes it less intrusive and as thousands of pylons are positioned in the countryside makes it an idea that deserves consideration.

Although, the sail-shaped one is the most attractive, the single most important element of any architect-designed structure is, of course, the pretentious blurb; and I'm hard pushed to decide whether entries 1 or 6 should win. That's where the experts
at RIBA come in.

Too easy to climb.

These designs are all so tedious, dull and boring. Nothing imaginative or slightly humorous - we saw a fantastic imagine of a "giant man" pylon from Iceland - why is British architecture and design always so flat, dull and boring.

Here's an idea - why not stick with existing pylon design? It is such a common sight that it is completely objective. All these designs are subjective to what the designer feels is fashionable, and as we all know, fashions date very quickly. If I picture
my local landscape with a pylon, a traditional design would appear far less intrusive than any of these designs. It is what it is - a pylon and not an art form stuck in a field. Above all, existing towers, in use since the 1920's in more or less their current
form, are completely tried and tested, easy to maintain and, I would imagine, relatively cheap.

This one along with #4 appear to be the real contenders. Between the two I feel this one is aesthetically superior. Pylons can never completey blend with their surroundigs in all places. But they can at least be a non-obtrusive work of art themselves.
This design achives that effect. I feel it will evoke a sense of wonder, appreciation by local communities and hence a greater acceptance by them. #4 is also good, but it so much reminds me of al-burj in Dubai. I dont want to be thinking of Dubai scrapers
walking in Britain's countryside. Thats my only issue with that design.

This is my 2nd choice (my favourite is number 2) - again very unintrusive, like number 2 it works with the countryside rather than trying to impose a statement on it. Number 2 is more elegant, but the permeability of this gives it a likeable quirkiness.

I like this as it is imaginitive. I see it fitting in to an urban environment well as the latice is intricate and draws your attention to it.

Not that I plan to any time soon but with this lattice all the way to the ground would that not make it too easy to climb the pylons? Growing up the one that has it's legs in my Grandparents old house the first cross bar was about 6-8foot off the ground.

Hmm... interesting concept... difficult to delineate and so kind of transparent but ultimately too fussy.

A practical design, but unlike current lattice towers when sections rust/decay they can be replaced individually like a big mechano set, is this tower to be repaired or replaced fully at great cost after a few years?

This design seems unnecessarily complicated for the 21st century being only a slight variation on current designs and possibly even more intrusive. I also do not like the artificial nature of this candy stick design.

This design is more aesthetically pleasing and longer lasting than the number 4 which seems more stylish and revolutionary on first look but if you were to see the simplistic number 4 everywhere, I am certain that you can quickly get bored with that design
and would be hoping for something better.

Those complaining about some of the pylon designs being to easy to climb, actually that is advantageous, it will allow engineers easier acces when then need to make repairs.