Hasta La Ideas

We’re of two minds on the launch of the Royal Institute of British Architects‘ new design contest, the Pylon Design Competition, which is aptly named because it seeks submissions for new designs for the ubiquitous and gigantic electric pylons you see not only spread across Europe but all over the US and in nearly every other country across the world. For one, of course, we’re all for their plans to hunt for new ideas in making these mighty carriers of electricity more efficient and sustainable, while also making them more aesthetically pleasing, instead of their current form as massive, almost otherworldly frames of metal dotting the landscape and rising hundreds of feet into the air. On the other hand, having once lived in the great, desert and mountain expanse of the Southwest and now living in the great, very flat expansive of the Midwest, this writer sort of loves the old things. Sure, on paper they’re obtrusive and block natural views and some might even say they’re downright ugly. But who hasn’t spent time as a child on a long family drive counting them or imagining they’re giant, static robots just waiting to come to life? We concede that it’s far better that, at the end of this competition, the results are world-alteringly perfect and beautiful and will change the way we think about the delivery of power, but if adopted, there’s a small part of us that will miss the old monsters. So do us proud, UK designers, and come up with something good. You have until July 12th to submit your entry. Here’s the launch video:

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