Issue#03—2014

Some caused a lot of debate, with one in particular – Rob Mulholland’s Skytower. This project commissioned by Forestry Commission Scotland sits on a windswept hillside 200m above sea level. The inspirational objective was to reflect the power of nature. Constructed from 1,400m of galvanized interwoven steel rod using 6,000 welds, the sculpture captures a sudden unforeseen force of nature that re-shapes the tower.

The jury were forced to ask – was this art, architecture or a wonderful piece of engineering?

De Boer Structures’ Biomass Fuel Store with its sublime lattice truss and elegant fabric skin, not designed by an architect, but exuding a poetic architecture of its own making, also had the jury scratching their heads.

Perhaps what these two projects highlight is the importance of identifying the problem and finding how best to resolve the dynamics of context, geography and the significance of the space created.

On an entirely different but important note, ‘Pole position in sustainability’, features work carried out by Search Consultancy BV in the Netherlands for the ‘Road of the Future’ process used by the Dutch municipality of Oss. It provides details of life cycle studies that show galvanized lighting columns have best environmental credentials.