Nobody likes to see the view being spoiled by power lines, but they're often a necessary part of modern infrastructure. Perhaps if they could be turned from an eyesore into a focal point, even the staunchest opponents could accept them. Such is the thinking behind this creative project that transforms power line pylons into giant animal sculptures.
The concept, called Austrian Power Giants, comes from the Austrian Power Grid and is developed in partnership with GP designpartners and Baucon. The idea is that each of Austria's nine federal states would feature its own style of pylon in the form of an animal symbolic of the region's identity.
"This nature-inspired design is ultimately intended to become a symbol for nature-friendly infrastructure projects, strengthen the economic and tourism location in the regions and ultimately lead to increased acceptance of grid expansion projects by the general public," explains Austria Power Grid, which is in charge of securing the country's power supply.
So far, just two of the nine designs have been explored. The stork was chosen as the symbolic animal of Burgenland, reflecting the bird's well-known annual visits, while the stag represents the densely wooded Alpine foothills of Lower Austria. The images show that the sculptures look really quite impressive and intricate.
The project recently won a Red Dot Design Award and miniature models of the giant beasts are on display at Singapore's Red Dot Museum until October 2026, where they can be viewed in more detail.
Looking to the future, it's not yet clear whether they will actually be employed – plus there are obvious practical concerns such as whether it will use a lot more steel to build these things. However, the Austrian Power Grid says the design has been "statically and electrically pre-tested" to check its potential feasibility. Indeed, the idea seems to have legs and similar efforts have been considered in Iceland and elsewhere.
Source: Austrian Power Giants
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