Iceland Considers Humanoid Pylon Design to Carry Electricity

An architecture and design firm called Choi+Shine has submitted a design for the Icelandic High-Voltage Electrical Pylon International Design Competition which proposes giant human-shaped pylons carrying electricity cables across the country's landscape.

The enormous figures would only require slight alterations to existing pylon designs, says the firm, which was awarded an honorable mention for its design by the competition's judging board. It also won an award from the Boston Society of Architects Unbuilt Architecture competition.

On their website, the architecture firm said: "Making only minor alterations to well-established steel-framed tower design, we have created a series of towers that are powerful, solemn and variable. These iconic pylon-figures will become monuments in the landscape. Seeing the pylon-figures will become an unforgettable experience, elevating the towers to something more than merely a functional design of necessity."

The figures can be placed into different poses, with the suggestion that the landscapes could inform the position that the sculpture is placed into. For example, as a power line ascends a hill, the pylons could look as if they're climbing. The figures could also stretch up to gain increased height over longer spans.

"Subtle alterations in the hands and head combined with repositioning of the main body parts in the x, y and z-axis, allow for a rich variety of expressions. The pylon-figures can be placed in pairs, walking in the same direction or opposite directions, glancing at each other as they pass by or kneeling respectively, head bowed at a town," wrote the architects.

That doesn't mean the manufacturing process has to be complex, however. Each pylon is made from the same basic bits (head, arms, torso, legs, etc.), which could be fabricated and then mounted into the desired position using pre-assembled joints.

Choi+Shine added: "Like the statues of Easter Island, it is envisioned that these 150-foot-tall modern caryatids will take on a quiet authority, belonging to their landscape yet serving the people, silently transporting electricity across all terrain, day and night, sunshine or snow."