Pylon design competition winner revealed
Organisers called for entries that were both "grounded in reality and beautiful" A T-shaped design has scooped a £5,000 prize in a competition to find the next generation of electricity pylons.
Danish engineering firm Bystrup beat 250 rivals to win the Royal Institute of British Architects contest.
It set the challenge to replace the familiar "triangle" design - in use since the 1920s - in May, although there is no commitment to build them.
An increasing number of pylons are expected to be needed to connect new wind, nuclear and hydroelectric plants.
Bystrup's architect Rasmus Jessing said he aimed for a more positive shape than the traditional "grumpy old men" design, as they are known in Denmark, to carry new forms of renewable energy.
"Hopefully in the next couple of years it will be time for T - the T-pylon," he said.
Six entries shortlisted in the competition, organised with the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the National Grid, have been on show in London's Victoria and Albert Museum. The five runners-up received £1,000 each.
'Transform landscapes'The jury - which included Energy Secretary Chris Huhne, leading architects and energy officials - rated entries on design quality, functionality, and technical viability.
After calling for entries to be "both grounded in reality and beautiful", the judges took into account the public response to the designs and the teams' abilities to create them.
The five runners-up were awarded £1,000 each Mr Huhne said: "The idea was to... see whether we could produce something which was more attractive, less obtrusive in the landscape, easier to live with, easier on the eye."
Organisers say the target of reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 will lead to electricity playing an increasingly important role in the UK's energy mix.
A subsequent proliferation of pylons and underground cables "have the potential to transform our landscapes for good or bad, and for generations to come", they said.
Campaigners frequently complain that pylons blight the countryside, while Lib Dem MP Tessa Munt described damage they cause as "beyond belief" in a Parliamentary debate in July.
However, it is 10 times as expensive to lay underground cables which are also more difficult and costly to repair.
And the 1920s pylons retain some fans.
Flash Bristow, from the Pylon Appreciation Society, said they were an "elegant engineering solution".
"Existing pylons I appreciate because they're a lattice design, so when you look at the pylon what you see, a lot of it, is actually the background coming through."
I like Pylons, always have. I also like wind turbines and water wheels. Those who don't should live in a barn without electricity and hot water..
My earliest photographs were often images of majestic Pylonia in green pastures on a misty morning..
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