The work of the Pylon Appreciation Society is evidence that the 1920s pylon is a much-loved (and sometimes hated) feature of the British landscape, providing the backbone of the grid that supplies the UK's electricity. However the concept and function of the grid has moved on since the competition run under the chairmanship of architect Sir Reginald Blomfield and won by US company Milliken Brothers. So in 2011 The National Grid needed to find a new design for the next generation of pylons. Once again a competition was launched and many UK engineering/architecture teams from the UK entered. The winning design from power-grid specialists Bystrup of Denmark was described as "simple, classical and practical". These new pylons were not intended to replace the 88,000 existing pylons but ten years further on they are beginning to be deployed as part of the new link to the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.

Henrik Skouboe, is former Director of Global Projects at Bystrup a world-leading developer of power grid systems. For more than 20 years he was managing the company’s department for infrastructure with projects such as power line planning, design, procurement and control. Since 2000 he has been involved in a number of projects together with Energinet (the Danish equivalent of National Grid) including Eagle Pylon, Stealth Pylon, Composite Pylon, Substations etc. He has comprehensive expertise in efficient and affordable power pylon design. Now he is representing AFRY Energy Denmark focusing on their transformation into renewables.

In his talk he will discuss the context of designing one of the most intrusive pieces of infrastructure, some of the technical aspects and the delivery of the T Pylon from concept to completion.

***Please note change of venue***