Pylons

摘要

I was looking at the pictures of the six finalists of the RIBA Pylon competition on my laptop when one of my granddaughters asked me what it was all about. I drew the sketch (see below) to show her how the present pylon design evolved and although explained in child-like terms, I thought that it might remind readers of the simple logic behind this iconic design. There is a simple logic behind the superstructure of the winning 'tee' shaped winner of the competition which I find aesthetically pleasing BUT like all of the entries there appears to have been little consideration of the foundations. The cost of a pylon's foundations is a high proportion of the cost of the structure and when built in remote locations, as most are, that proportion increases.