Crystal Palace

London, England
The Crystal Palace, a vast demountable building designed by Joseph Paxton for the Great Exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park, London, was in many ways crucial in the development of architecture: it was the pinnacle of innovative metal structure, it revealed the exciting potential of efficient prefabrication, and it was an early demonstration of the modern doctrine that beauty can exist in the clear expression of materials and function. Altogether, it was one of the most noteworthy buildings of the nineteenth century. The idea for a Great Exhibition came from the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, and was given impetus by Henry Cole, then an assistant keeper in the Public Records Office. His wide interests extended to the publication of The Journal of Design that encouraged artists to design for industrialized mass production and urged manufacturers to employ them. That, he believed, would raise the quality of everyday articles. Cole was elected to the societys council in 1846, and the following year, with others, he successfully solicited Queen Victorias consort, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, to accept the role of its president. Under Royal Charter, and spurred by the success of French industrial expositions since 1844, the society held Exhibitions of Art Manufactures from 1847 through 1849 After visiting the exclusively French exhibition in Paris in 1849, Cole realized that an international show would inform British industry of progress and commercial competition elsewhere in the world. Prince Albert, convinced thatthat great end to which all history pointsthe realization of the unity of mankind was imminent, caught the vision. The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 was established to expedite a self-financinglarge [exhibition] embracing foreign productions. It was envisioned asa new starting-point from which all nations will be able to direct their further exertions, but it was at the same time an expression of British nationalism. Britain had led the world into the Industrial Revolution, and her outlook was smug, to say the least. The Great Exhibition would provide a vehicle to flaunt her industrial, military, and economic superiority and justify her colonialism. The show was to have a display area of 700,000 square feet 66,000 square meters, much bigger than anything the French had managed. That was too large even for the intended venue in the courtyard of Somerset House, so it was decided to locate it in Hyde Park. An open competition for the design of a building for theGreat Exhibition of the Works of All Nations attracted 245 entries from 233 architects, including 38 from abroad. The Commissioners Building Committee liked none of them besides, it was unlikely that any could have been completed on time. Having prepared its own plan for a large dome standing on a brick drum, the committee called for bids. The result was alarming: building materials alone would have devoured at least half of the available funds of