Electrical Tower Giants (6 pics)

In order to beautify the city, we've seen cell phone towers disguised as trees, but what do we do about tall, unsightly electrical towers?

Massachusetts-based Jin Choi and Thomas Shine recently received the 2010 Boston Society of Architects Unbuilt Architecture Award for their "Land of Giants" project. The pylon-figures can be configured to respond to their environment with appropriate gestures. As the carried electrical lines ascend a hill, the pylon-figures change posture, imitating a climbing person.

The pylon-figures can also be arranged to create a sense of place through deliberate expression. Subtle alterations in the hands and head combined with repositioning of the main body parts allow for a rich variety of expressions. The pylon-figures can be placed in pairs, walking in the same direction or opposite directions, glancing at each other as they pass by, or kneeling respectively, head bowed at a town.

"Making only minor alterations to well established steel-framed tower design, we have created a series of towers that are powerful, solemn, and variable," says Choi+Shine. "These iconic pylon-figures will become monuments in the landscape. Seeing the pylon-figures will become an unforgettable experience, elevating the towers to something more than merely a functional design of necessity."