Photo Credit: Choishine.com
After Icelanders got tired of looking at the ugly structures that dotted their landscape, a group of architects decided to transform boring electricity pylons into a work of art, naming the project “The Land Of Giants.”
“Making only minor alterations to well established steel-framed tower design, we have created a series of towers that are powerful, solemn and variable,” the architects wrote on their website. “Seeing the pylon-figures will become an unforgettable experience, elevating the towers to something more than merely a functional design of necessity.”
Architects Jin Choi and Thomas Shine were the minds behind this fascinating project. “Like the statues of Easter Island,” wrote Choi and Shine, “it is envisioned that these one hundred and fifty 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.”
The pylon-figures can be configured to respond to their environment with appropriate gestures, the architects also explained. As the carried electrical lines ascend a hill, the pylon-figures change posture, imitating a climbing person. Over long spans, the pylon-figure stretches to gain increased height, crouches for increased strength or strains under the weight of the wires.
The artistry of the project was rewarded with a BSA Unbuilt Architecture Award in 2010.
