Human-shaped Pylons
Jin Choi and Thomas Shine, partners from the American firm Choi+Shine, who present themselves as an architectural and design firm specialized in beautiful, optimistic and thought-provoking designs, recently received the Boston Society of Architects award for their Land of Giants project, in the unbuilt architecture category. The project stemmed from their competition proposal and was awarded an honorable mention within the scope of the Icelandic High-Voltage Electrical Pylon International Design Competition, whose goal was to find a new typology for the existing high voltage electric pylons. By making only minor alterations, their solution transforms the regular pylons into gigantic human-shaped sculptures spread across the Icelandic landscape. In making several changes on the existing forms of steel structures, as the architects emphasize, they created a series of diverse, monumental and powerful towers i.e. pylons. If the authors are to be believed, such reinterpreted pylons, especially in dramatic landscapes such as the Icelandic one, have become quite the attraction providing an unforgettable visual experience, transforming run-of-the-mill pylon towers from their simple, required design into impressive gigantic sculptures. In further explanation of their concept, the architects add how the pylon figures are equipped to adequately respond to their surrounding environment. For example, they have the ability to imitate an individual climbing with their posture, more precisely, with a “gesture“.
Click here for more information on the Massachusetts architects’ unusual project.
