The architect behind these unusual-looking pylons says they were designed to look as if they had grown out of the environment, rather than standing out as incongruous, as so many manmade forms are.
Most people would probably agree that they still look strikingly manmade, but in a bold, space-age kind of way. Perhaps alien-made would be a better term.
Dietmar Koering of Arphenotype came up with the concept, which was originally an entry to a competition run by an Icelandic electrical transmission company and the Association of Icelandic Architects. It has since been championed by the design magazine, Dezeen.
Koering explains that he was inspired by the idea of pylons serving as a spine supporting today’s society, "which enables us all to live at such a high standard and in an age of easy communication."
The idea first came to the architect during a lecture on biomimetics, the practice of imitating design principals found in nature – something that Koering says influences all his work. As the lecturer talked about fibre composites, Koering started sketching ideas then and there.
The sketches led to the building of a basic 3D model of a tripod system, which put stability ahead of organic form. As he built on the initial design, he drew inspiration from a wide range of architectural influences, including Jacques Couelle, Fritz Wotrupa, Miguel Fisac, and Antti Lovag's Bubblehouse. It's also probably significant that Koering had seen The War of the Worlds just a week before.
For the competition itself, Koering created detailed visuals of what the pylons would look like, stipulating that they would be between 17m and 32m in height and their actual shape would vary with the longitude and latitude of where they are located.
The structures would be made out of aramid-fibre-matrix bounded with eco resin through thermosetting. For the unintiated, aramid fibres are strong, heat-resistant, synthetic materials that are used by aerospace and military engineers in products including body armour. Koering says that it will stand up to the rigours of wind, weathering and UV exposure.
Despite these practical considerations, Koering doesn’t think the designs will go into production. "I see it more as an art installation, like the Solar Trees from Ross Lovegrove," he says, adding that the design would lose some of its "specialness" if thousands were created and then dropped over Iceland.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
