The Land of Giants reimagines Iceland’s high-voltage pylons as 150-foot-tall (45-meter) human-like steel figures, turning functional infrastructure into monumental sculptures. Proposed by Choi+Shine Architects for Landsnet, Iceland’s power transmission company, the concept won recognition in a 2008 international competition.
Project Origins
Choi+Shine, led by Jin Choi and Thomas Shine, entered the 2008 Icelandic High-Voltage Electrical Pylon International Design Competition organized by Landsnet and the Association of Icelandic Architects. The goal was to create constructible, affordable towers that minimize visual impact while innovating for 220kV lines across diverse terrains. Despite acclaim, the design remains unbuilt, existing as conceptual renderings and models.
Design Features
Figures use modular steel parts like torsos, arms, and legs with adjustable joints, built from ground up like lattice towers on concrete footings, possibly with guy wires. Poses adapt to context: climbing hills, stretching over plains, crouching for strength, or bowing near towns, while maintaining cable clearances. This kit-of-parts approach keeps costs low through mass production.
These renderings show giants striding or interacting across Iceland’s landscape, evoking Easter Island moai with a modern twist.
Awards and Exhibitions
It earned a Recognition Award in 2008 and the Boston Society of Architects Unbuilt Architecture Award in 2010. A model is in the permanent collection at Canada’s Musée des Sciences et de la Technologie in Ottawa, with past shows at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum (2011) and others like Yale’s Woman in Architecture (2012).
Cultural Impact
Featured in global media like The Telegraph, BBC, and Dezeen, the project shifts perceptions of infrastructure from eyesores to icons, fostering national pride. Viral social media posts often mistake it for built reality, highlighting its enduring appeal in art and design circles.
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