Visually Appealing Structures: The paradigm of designing transmission structures to disappear is shifting

摘要

Over the past 130 years of electricity in America, the attention given to transmission line aesthetics has been mostly an afterthought or, more recently, a process complication necessary to gain public acceptance and secure the required permits for a project. Utility aesthetics have been relegated to playing a public relations role. But how should visual impact tie into the engineer's numerous responsibilities to public safety, health and welfare? The engineer must balance competing aspects when designing a transmission line. Three lasting performance characteristics remain once a project is energized: electrical function, structural integrity and aesthetic imprint. While the first two are utilitarian in nature, the last ought to bear a weight of its own. Utility structures have the power to transform landscapes, their impact consumed by the public eye for decades. This provides the impetus for engineers to adopt aesthetics into design.