What on earth is that pylon doing in Victoria Square?

By Stuart Pemble on Jun 3, 08 11:58 AM in Commercial Property

Last night, my wife assured me that, at the age of 37 and ¾, I have officially become a grumpy old man. The cause of my ire: the blinking ugly electricity pylon which has been plonked in Victoria Square as the "centrepiece" of Brum's Climate Change Festival.

According to the organisers:

"The pylon brings home the reality of climate change - it makes the issue of climate change visible and local. It isn't just happening far from home and in the future: it's happening here and now...The climate change festival has been designed to make the invisible (carbon emissions) visible, and the idea lies at the heart of our problem with energy: we are rarely conscious of how much we use."

Am I the only person who thinks this is utter gobbledygook?

Don't get me wrong, I am very concerned about climate change (who isn't?) and try my best to be a responsible citizen. I also work with clients who are passionate about building a new generation of carbon-neutral buildings (although the jury is still out on what carbon-neutral actually means).

I know it's not fashionable in some quarters to admit it, but I found Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth a very disturbing film and I worry like crazy about the future of the planet (especially the fact that no-one appears to be agreed on what the solution - or indeed the cause of the problem - actually is).

But, I also drive a car, heat my home with gas, watch the telly and fly places on holiday - and so do lots of other people. Those are facts of modern life and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. If, as I suspect is the case, the pylon is supposed to make us feel guilty about living (and consuming electricity), then I can't help but feel a wee bit patronised. It is also hideously ugly and ruins the best bit of our city centre.

I also agree with this comment I saw on the web-page of Building magazine, the key journal for the construction industry in the UK: "If the organisers feel people need to see a giant pylon to get the point, why there are plenty within five minutes of my house - it would have cost nothing to show people those".

The only saving grace: the wretched thing gets dismantled on the 8th.

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4 Comments

Mik said:

Stuart, you have to admit it's a 'conversation piece' surely. Would you have written about climate change if you hadn't wanted to moan about a giant pylon?

Sometimes big PR stunts are what is needed.

Perhaps it should have been equipped with a giant electricity meter to show how much the city is burning?

An alternative of course would have been a giant windmill (I love windmills) - but that could easily backfire I suppose if people thought it was a serious proposal to erect a giant turbine in the city centre.

And by the way, you don't have to be too radical to help save the planet. Drive your car when it's necessary, switch the TV off when it's not in use, change your lightbulbs and switch to a renewable energy supplier - it all helps.

Mik

June 3, 2008 2:33 PM

Ajmer Phull said:

I suspect the organisers carried this monstrosity on their backs, the architect only worked on sunny days, outdoors, using light and heat from the sun, during the design, the company that manufactured this beat and shaped the metal by hand, oh and they didn't use a crane to hoist the thing in the middle of what is usually a beautiful spot to have lunch, take a break, enjoy the 60 minutes in the day during lunch. I think most Brummies are failry aware of the impacts their modern-day lifestyles have on the environment. I wonder how much this stunt cost?

June 4, 2008 10:04 AM

Stuart Pemble said:

Thanks Mik and Ajmer for your comments. Mik: I'm always a bit sceptical about the "well at least it got a response so it must be doing something right" line of argument, not least because I'm pretty confident that a negative blog on the Birmingham Post was not what the organisers had in mind. Ajmer: I have no idea about the cost...sorry.

June 4, 2008 12:18 PM

Terrence Dampster said:

We don't want to see pylons in our city squares. Electricity would be far better transported underground in the countryside too. Out of sight, out of mind.

June 4, 2008 5:03 PM