New pylon designs at the Building Centre

The Building Centre is well known for showcasing the latest techniques and products that builders, contractors and architects can expect to be using in the near future. Up until Christmas it’s showcasing lesser known submissions for the recent competition to find the best new pylon design to replace the ugly steel tower design that’s been in use since the 1920’s.

The competition was jointly sponsored by the Royal Society of British Architects, National Grid and the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Architects, engineers, designers and students from all these disciplines were invited to come up with a new design for one of the most common sights across the country. The challenge was to design a pylon that would be robust enough to remain in place to meet the needs of future generation while taking into account the need to create something if not beautiful, then at least sympathetic to the countryside.

There are more than 88,000 pylons across the UK and this number is set to rise as more sources of energy, from wind, water and wave, come online in the coming years.

The exhibition at the Building Centre includes 90 designs that didn’t make it onto the competition shortlist. Many of these designs are ingenious, beautiful and witty. The exhibition continues until the 23rd December.

The competition winner was the T-Pylon by Danish architects Bystrup. What do you think of our pylons?
Is it time we came up with a better pylon to carry our cables into the future?