XL-MAST

In 2002, the Danish Architects Association and electricity company Eltra announced a competition to design a new pylon for high voltage cables. The starting point of our project was to find a form and type of construction, which was both a part of the varied landscapes and had a rational structure that was economically feasible to produce. The proposal used a sheet material rather than a lattice structure in order to obtain a more sculptured, harmonic and non-linear form, consisting of few and simple curves.

The shape of the pylon is the result of optimising the form through a systematic and mathematically based shape synthesis aimed at maximum strength and minimal material usage. The calculation comes from the complex relationships between the architectural qualities of the pylon, construction type, strength, material properties and the properties defined by its intended use. These considerations crated a series of restrictions that limited the number of possible shapes.

To simplify the visual expression of the entire construction, the pylon was designed with two legs that meet at a point roughly at middle of the pylon. This makes the pylon particularly suitable for the absorption of lateral forces. The welded triangular profile is changing through the pylon, so that the foundation is strongest in the longitudinal direction of the cables in order to absorb longitudinal loads. At the top of the pylon the triangular profile changes to accommodate the extraction across the cables due to the pull of earth conductors, insulators and phase conductors.