Crystal Palace. Architecture or Engineering?

In 1851 Britain was to hold the ‘Exhibition of the works of all nations’ as it was the wealthiest and most powerful nation the world has ever known. To impose this sense of power, one would need to create a grand modern building in which to house all of these wonders from around the world. Prince Albert formed a committee to aid in the judging of the first real international Architectural competition. The committee had 245 entries but not a single one was suitable for these high class gentlemen. They set about creating their own vision of what was to be a modern, contemporary design. Instead they created a pic-n-mix style building which was cluttered and an eyesore. In turn the committee became the laughing stock of the whole country.

Joseph Paxton, a gardener who had studied and constructed very well thought out iron greenhouses, was to be their solution. He had come up with a concept design for the building during another meeting. With the opening date ever looming closer Paxton had to design and build quick, with only 42 weeks until the unveiling of this non-existing building. As Frampton emphasises “When commissioned at the eleventh hour to design the Crystal Palace, Paxton was able to produce, in just eight days, an enormous orthogonal three-tiered glasshouse” (2007). He took into consideration the site and the public’s interest in the preservation of the aged trees which were within the building. “Paxton was quick to realize that these troublesome items could easily be accommodated by a central transept with a high curved roof, and thus the double symmetry of the final form emerged.” (Frampton 2007) Pre fabrication of the iron members and the glass outer skin were the key to the success of this project. The fact of the matter is that because of Paxton’s use of iron, he had no need for thick load baring walls which created an open space that had never been seen before. One that looked light and also light in weight.

This enraged most Architects as there is an ongoing feud between Architects and Engineers, and they considered the building to be designed too quick and with a “lack of craft”. They were unimpressed by his use of unconventional materials. As Hearn says to us about Le-Duc’s views “New materials, especially those produced by industrial processes, should be welcomed and encouraged. Insofar as possible, materials should be prepared for use before being brought to the building site and new methods of preparation and construction should be readily accepted and even sought.” (1990) They did not like that fact that Paxton did not stick to any of the classical principles of architecture and did not go by the classical styles. They wanted a building which would express the delight of a building but how could this be realised by a gardener?