During the 1960′s the United States Government was busy designing new power stations. The electrical stations employed a modernist flair and were put into a book that touts the job of “electrical engineer” as the “must have” job of the future.
Grain Edit provides a nice description of the stations:
The problem of locating electric power structures and lines is becoming increasingly difficult. The public is sensitive to and critical of the appearance of such facilities which traditionally have been designed on a function-reliability-safety-initial low cost basis with little consideration given aesthetics. Remedial measures taken during or after erection are usually of limited success and costly.
“POWER STYLING” combines structural form and aesthetic expression in the design of electric power installations by establishing appearance as a major requirement during the initial stage. In this way, more attractive installations can be developed without sacrifice of safety or reliability-often at lower overall cost.
Here are more pictures from the book:
I understand these are 50 year old designs, but I would still stop to look at such a cool modernist design. What do you think about the governments imagination in the 60′s?
