Update 14 October – T Pylon has been unanimously agreed by the judging panel as the winner of the Pylon Design competition run by the Department of Energy & Climate Change, National Grid, and the Royal Institute of British Architects.
As a result of this contest National Grid will now work with Bystrup to develop their T-Pylon design further. National Grid have also said they want to do further work with Ian Ritchie Associates on their Silhouette design, and New Town Studio’s Totem design. The winner will receive £5000 prize money and the 5 other finalists will each receive £1000.
Nick Winser, executive director, National Grid said: “In the T-Pylon we have a design that has the potential to be a real improvement on the steel lattice tower. It’s shorter, lighter and the simplicity of the design means it would fit into the landscape more easily. In addition, the design of the electrical components is genuinely innovative and exciting.
“However, the Totem and Silhouette designs are worthy of further consideration – both of them have strong visual appeal and characteristics that could work well in different landscapes. We are genuinely delighted at the prospect of working with all three companies to develop some real options for the future.”
Ruth Reed, RIBA Immediate Past President said:
“The potential to reduce the size and height of pylons and consequently their impact on the landscape and the amount of materials in their construction, made this scheme a clear winner for me.
“The radical design of a single suspension arm carrying three conductors is simple and understated. Whilst there should still be the opportunity for statement designs where they are appropriate this radical solution is a quantum leap forward for the design of the thousands of pylons needed in the years to come.”
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14 September – UK energy secretary Chris Huhne has opened a display featuring scale models of six striking designs for new electricity pylons to the public today at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
On 23 May the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and National Grid called for designs for a new generation of electricity pylon.
250 submitted designs from around the world have been whittled down to six finalists who have been working with the National Grid and Millennium Models to build scale models of their designs for the final judging panel. A prize fund of £10,000 will be shared among the winning candidates and National Grid will give consideration to developing the winning design for use in future projects.
The government has invited the UK public to comment on the designs via the competition website until 5 October and those comments will be taken into account by the judging panel when they make their final decision later that month.
Chris Huhne will chair the judging panel, which will include National Grid’s Nick Winser, former Director of the V&A Sir Mark Jones, architects Sir Nicholas Grimshaw and Bill Taylor, engineer Chris Wise, the journalist Jonathan Glancey, Scottish Power representative Jim Sutherland and a former RIBA President, Ruth Reed.
The “Pylon for the Future” display is open to the public until 5 October.
