Pylon
New Generation of Electricity Structures
Agencie designed an alternative to the standard electricity pylon as part of the RIBA + UK Department of Energy Competition. The competition sought designs to replace the 88,000 lattice pylons that currently bestride the UK countryside. The design balances energy needs with visual impact. The curved, visually-dynamic shape resembles a sail.
The simple design involves a high-degree of engineering innovation integrated into a coherent geometry. The pylon stands at about 120ft, this minimizes the height, width and right-of-way. The carefully selected materials and surface treatments include hot-dipped galvanized steel, fiber-reinforced polymer and silicone rubber.
In a perfect world, electricity transmission lines would run as straight as possible. However natural barriers such as hills, rivers and roads have to be circumvented or crossed. Land rights issues also often require a route to turn a corner. This places a lot of lateral strain to the side of a pylon in the direction of the turn. Therefore the suspension design needs to be supplemented so pylons can resist being pulled to one side. Similarly, a pylon deviation at the end of a route has to be stronger than those which form the rest of the route because of the extra force it must resist.
The design intent is to fit into the surrounding landscape. The design nestles the new electricity lines with greater sensitivity into the beautiful British countryside, while balancing this with the need to minimise household energy bills. The other considerations include electromagnetic fields, noise and the overall pylon footprint.
Services
- Architecture
- Structural Engineering
Location
- London, UK
Recognition
- The Guardian
Team
- Andres Cortes, AIA
- Sarrah Khan, PE
- Scott Wagner
