Antti Nurmesniemi's 75th anniversary exhibition at Sanomatalo in Helsinki

Exhibition on technology in everyday infrastructure. "Suuret linjat" (Grand lines), the 75th anniversary exhibition of Professor Antti Nurmesniemi, the designer, will be opened to the public at Mediatori in Sanomatalo in Helsinki on 10 January. The exhibition shows a compilation of transmission line towers used for the high-voltage transmission of electricity, designed by Studio Nurmesniemi over the past 10 years. The design of large transmission line structures traversing the landscape has been pioneering work globally. The results of this work have been recognised through awards such as the annual Good Design award of the Chicago Athenaeum in 1999.

Transmission line towers designed by Studio Nurmesniemi represent a straightforward design approach. The towers have an important, downright vital purpose as a part of the electricity transmission system, and their design naturally stems from proper functionality. In large objects, an aesthetic appearance often means eliminating details; this is also the case with these towers. The towers adapted to their background scenery and to the built-up environment represent technical aesthetics at its best.

The first landscape towers in Finland were designed in the early 1990s. A series of six towers was erected at a seaside landscape at Hirvensalo in Turku, making up a part of an environmental project of the Pro Cultura foundation: "Turku, a European sculpture town". A few years later, a multi-level junction in Espoo was provided with a unique landmark and piece of environmental art: a series of three 400 kilovolt towers, referred to as "Espoon sinikurjet" (Blue cranes of Espoo) on account of their blue colour. After this, towers adapted to the surrounding landscape have been erected at Vantaa, Hämeenlinna, Jyväskylä, Porvoo, Laukaa, Oulu and Virkkala in Lohja.

Helsinki is also obtaining its own landscape towers as the towers resembling a seamark, designed by Studio Nurmesniemi for Helsinki Energy, will be erected on the sea area between Salmisaari and Meilahti this year. The steel pipe towers painted blue will be erected at intervals of about 500 metres to constitute a part of the 110 kilovolt transmission line running between the Salmisaari and Meilahti substations. The renewed line will improve electricity distribution to the southwestern parts of Helsinki and to the central city area, and it will also increase the electricity transmission capacity.