AssetID: 55226918
Headline: Austria transforms 'boring' electrical pylons into giant animal-shaped sculptures
Caption: Austria is giving its ‘boring’ electrical pylons a creative makeover — by turning them into giant animal sculptures. Known as the Austrian Power Giants, the towering power lines take the form of whimsical steel creatures that span the nation’s nine federal states. From the graceful storks of Burgenland — a nod to the region’s famous annual stork migration — to majestic stags representing the wooded foothills of Lower Austria, each sculpture transforms everyday infrastructure into a celebration of nature and local identity. The project is a collaboration between Austrian Power Grid, GP designpartners, and BauCon, who say they want to turn something once seen as an eyesore into a point of pride. The goal, they explain, is to create designs that ‘harmonise with nature’ and ‘strengthen the economic and tourism potential in the regions’. In other words, power lines that people might actually like to look at. And it’s not just a pipe dream. Two of these majestic designs — the stork and the stag — have already been developed and pre-tested for structural stability and high-voltage performance, proving that beauty and practicality can coexist. The initiative has already caught international attention, scooping the Red Dot Design Award 2025 in the Electrification and Decarbonisation category. Miniature models of the Austrian Power Giants are now on display at the Red Dot Museum in Singapore until October 2026.
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