The

Crystal

Palace:

The

Beginning of

Iron & Glass

Architecture

References:

Hix, John: The Glass House

McKean, John: The Crystal

Palace

The Great Exhibition;

London, 1851

•

A “Great Exhibit of the Works of Industry

of All Nations”

•

The building was the epitome of England’s industry, vision,

determination, wealth, technical knowledge, and powers of

production.

Charles Dickens

said of the project,

“Two parties in London, relying on the accuracy and good faith of

certain ironmasters, glass-workers in the provinces, and of one

master carpenter in London, bound themselves for a certain sum

of money, and in the course of four months, to cover eighteen

acres of ground with a building upwards of a third of a mile long

(1851 feet- the exact date of the year) and some hundred and

fifty feet broad. In order to do this, the glass maker promised to

supply, in the required time, nine hundred thousand square feet

of glass (> 400 tons). The iron-master passed his word in like

manner, to cast in due time 3300 iron columns; 34 miles of

guttering tube, 2224 girders. The carpenter undertook to get

ready within the specific period 205 miles of sash-bar; flooring

for a building of thirty-three millions of cubic feet; besides

enormous quantities of wooden walling, louver work and

partition.”

The Building Delivery

Process

•

01/1850 The Royal Commission, Chaired by

Prince Albert

•

03/13/50 Competition announced for

temporary exhibition building

•

240 entries, none chosen, instead

committee offered it’s own design

•

A brick structure with an iron dome - dark,

heavy, permanent

Fears Abound

•

protectionists

feared foreign

goods

•

environmentalists

feared destruction

of elms

•

the press feared

foreign visitors -

Papists, thieves, &

syphilitics

Problems with the

Committee’s Design

•

17 million bricks, 200ft dome, extensive

foundations, a permanent structure

•

By 06/50 things looked bleak

Enter the “White Knight”:

Joseph Paxton

•

founded newspaper, wrote books on

horticulture, wrote articles on greenhouse

design

•

knew several people on Royal Commission

•

they found loophole to allow design

submission

Architectural Conservatory;

Prof. Richard Bradley , 1718

•

School of Botany at Cambridge

•

conformed to rules of arch., but considered welfare of

plants.

•

glass dome, thin Corinthian columns., white tile walls

Great Conservatory;

Paxton, 1836

•

Longest glass building in the world

•

277’L x 123’ W x 67’ H.

•

Laminated wood beams, cast iron columns along the

nave, ridge & furrow glazing system

Great Wall at Chatsworth;

Paxton, 1848

•

330’ long enclosure of an exist. masonry wall

Victoria Regia House;

Paxton, 1850

•

cultivating a growing Victoria Regia Lilly

from S. America

•

leaves supported by thin cantilevers

•

first “flat roof” installation of ridge &

furrow glazing system

•

two tilted 49” glass panes + sash equals

81”, c/c.

•

24’ girders + deep gutters + trussed

Paxton gutter

Victoria Regia House;

Gutter Details

•

external & interior waterways

•

change of depth

•

trusses with “pretensioning”

For the Crystal Palace,

Paxton…..

•

promised a full set of drawings in 10 days

based on a sketch during a RR board

meeting,

•

he & estate staff produced drawings in

seven days - almost exact to what was

actually built

After Paxton’s First Sketches

Were Accepted….

•

Fox Henderson & Co. undertook

calculations and the prep of detailed

drawings.

•

bid of £150, 000 - if left standing

•

bid of £79,800 if leased

•

now the building committee needed to

approve the plans

Paxton Leaked Design to

Illustrated London News

•

cheaper, quicker, assemble/ disassemble,

no brick, stone, mortar, light foundation,

day lighting, no interior walls, 25% greater

area

•

committee was furious

•

public overwhelmingly positive

On 07/15….

•

Royal Commission

rejected Building

Committee’s design

& accepted Paxton’s

lower bid

•

added transcept to

save the elms

Construction Drawings

•

Fox - 7weeks, 18hrs/ day to produce

drawings

•

as soon as drawings were finished,

Henderson set up production schedule

•

small crew installed drainpipes & light

foundations

Exterior:

•

Overall Building: 1848’ x 456’

•

Nave: 72’W x 64’ H

•

Transcept: 408’ x 104’ H

Modular, Hierarchical

Cast Iron in Buildings:

•

Crystal Palace

•

3,300 columns from 14 1/2 to 20 ft tall

•

34 miles of guttering tube below grade

•

2,224 girders

•

Cast Iron Applications in Buildings

•

1796 - Shrewesbury Warehouse

•

1809 - cast iron dome in Paris

•

1849 - cast iron facades by J. Bogardus

•

1851 - Crystal Palace

•

1855 - Bessemer Process for steel making

•

1884 - Home Insurance Building, Chicago

Cast Iron in the

Crystal Palace

•

Column ends

were lathe

turned

•

Canvas gasket

dipped in white

lead at the joints

•

3’ deep collar

with connecting

lip

•

Girders secured

with wrought

iron wedges

Column Schedule

Strength Testing:

•

several iron bridges had failed in the

1840’s

•

for public assurance:

•

marching soldiers and rolling cannon balls

•

for the engineers:

•

hydraulic press tested 214 girders with 24’ span

•

tested at 15T and 22T

•

first private testing laboratories & concept

of factor of safety

Wood

•

600,000 cu ft of wood milled into >200

miles of gutters and sash bars

•

milling operation input rough beams and

output finished profiled gutters

•

dipped in paint trough and run across

fixed brushes to remove excess

Glass

•

Chance Bros. & Co.

won the contract

•

from 08/50 - 02/51,

they produced:

•

>300,00 sheets

•

>900,000 sf

•

>400T

•

largest sheet ever made,

10” x 49” from the

cylinder process

•

this contract equaled

1/3 of England’s total

prior production

Ridge & Furrow Glazing

Daylight

•

suffered from

excessive light and

heat gain

•

canvas was stretched

from ridge to ridge

with drain holes over

the furrow

•

sprayed with water for

cooling

•

also included a

mechanical ventilation

system

Transcept

•

laminated wood beams reinforced with

iron rods

•

sloping sash bars for the glazing system

Time & Budget

•

9/26/50:

•

First column on site

•

Columns placed just 18 hrs after casting

•

01/51

•

Structural frame completed

•

Bid: £79,800

•

Change Orders: £27,980 + £35,000

•

Total Cost: £142,780

The Exhibition:

•

By 9/25/51: £451,000 in receipts

•

On 10/7/51: almost 100,000 guests

•

On 10/11/51: closed to the public

•

On 5/12/52: Sold for £70,000

After the Crystal Palace

•

Lyndhurst by Lord & Burnham

•

Hothouses for the millions

Horeau & Turner:

•

Prize Winners for

Exhibition

•

Paris & London

proposals, Paris

executed

•

Train stations,

other exhibitions,

NY etc.

Hot Houses for the Millions

•

Residential Greenhouses

•

Winter Garden in the Anglo-Japanese Style

Glass House by Bruno Taut

•

“Expressionist”

architecture

•

Built at the

Cologne Werkbund

•

Concrete lamellar

structure

•

Glass ceilings,

walls, floors, tiles

Outcomes

•

professional A/E jealousy and fear

•

shift from A/E to design/ build

•

concern that modular buildings could not

be suited to individual sites/ needs

•

search for an appropriate aesthetic

Influences on Today’s

Building Practices

•

structural frame

•

standard rolled shapes

•

standard details

•

strength testing

•

prefabrication

•

assembly/ disassembly

•

published w/ enough detail to allow others to build

•

project management