Crystal Palace example essay topic

The Crystal Palace: A Palace of Beauty and Wonder The Crystal Palace not only showcased the wonders of Britain and its colonies, but it also inspired future architecture and pop culture. The reason for its entire existence was the Great Exhibition of 1851. Prince Albert's desire to show Britain's economic superiority fueled the idea for the Great Exhibition. Webb shows just how strong Albert's pride in British superiority was when he stated that, "Scientific curiosity, a faith in progress, and the examples of French exhibitions of artistic and industrial productions led the Prince to the idea of the Great Exhibition" (Webb 286). The Exhibition made its run and so did the Palace. Meant to be dismantled after use, the Crystal Palace's architect, Joseph Paxton, raised funds and had it moved from Hyde Park to a London suburb of Sydenham where it lived out its remaining years.

However, it proved not to be fireproof and burned down in 1936 during restoration. Thus, the Crystal Palace's construction for the Great Exhibition of 1851 was not only a first in architecture, but was immensely beautiful and exotic, and to this day, still being copied. As stated previously, the whole concept and eventual building of the Crystal Palace was due wholly in part to the Great Exhibition of 1851. In order to hold this elaborate showcasing of British culture, the perfect building was needed. But why was the Great Exhibition even really needed? Answered keenly in the words of Black and McRaild", Planned in 1849 by Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, a keen modernise r, the Great Exhibition was intended as a demonstration of British achievement and a reflection of the country's mission, duty and interest to put itself at the head of the diffusion of civilisation" (Black 24).

Britain wanted to show Europe and the rest of the World that they were on top and that they were the ones to come to for any type of needs, either or scientific. The exhibitors were predominantly British, although according to Wilson's breakdown of the exhibitors, "There were 13,937 exhibitors - 6,556 of them foreign, the rest British. There were over 100,000 exhibits... ".

(Wilson 38). While not predominant, the British support of the colonies was put on the forefront as MacKenzie acknowledges that the, "Displays emphasized the commercial importance of more than thirty colonies and dependencies whose manufactures and raw materials were exhibited" (MacKenzie 321). The Great Exhibition lasted for seven months, attracted 6 million patrons, and closed its doors at the Hyde Park location on 15 October 1851. The Great Exhibition, however, couldn't have happened without the Crystal Palace.

Prince Albert had not only been planning for the Exhibition but also for a building that could be an exhibit itself. After Queen Victoria agreed to Albert's plan for the exhibition he gathered a group of people together to head up a search on locations and to gather proposals for buildings if one needed to be built. As Ford states it, "A Royal Commission was appointed and in January 1850 the building committee organised an international competition. Two hundred and forty-five entries were received, but none was judged suitable and the building committee produced its own design" (Ford 222-223). The design put forth by the Royal Commission was published in the newspaper but received a surprising reply.

The design was ridiculed and disliked by all. In fact, people started to flood the Royal Commission with their own designs, some not even by architects. But one person, Joseph Paxton, caught their eye. Joseph Paxton was not an educated architect at all, and in fact, he was a gardener and was known for designing greenhouses.

This background is what gave the Crystal Palace its unique, first-of-a-kind, design. According to the "History of the Crystal Palace", "Joseph Paxton, who at the age of 23 had been appointed head gardener to the Duke of Devonshire estate at Chatsworth, had been conducting numerous experiments in glass house design" ("History of the Crystal Palace" 1). So, while not an educated architect, he still had experience. When he saw the design that the Royal Commission had placed in the paper, he knew he could do better. Ford notes that Joseph Paxton then, .".. scribbled his fundamental idea for the Crystal Palace on a piece of blotting paper during a tribunal of the Midland Railway at Derby which he attended on 11 June 1850. He then made the necessary drawings and the scheme was published in the 'Illustrated London News' on 6 July" (Ford 223).

The Royal Commission all agreed that his unique idea would be the perfect building to house the Great Exhibition, but stressed to Paxton that the building was to be temporary. Karwatka notes that, "He said he could build a temporary structure for the low cost of lb 79,800" (Karwatka 1). The deal was made; Paxton was to build the Crystal Palace. Joseph Paxton wasted no time getting to work since the project was going to be quite and undertaking.

The site of building was to be in Hyde Park. Ford points out that, "The site was taken over by the contractors on 1 August 1850 and the exhibition opened on 1 May 1851" (Ford 224). He also states that, "It was constructed in a remarkable nine months in 1850-51... and yet it served later to demonstrate an unsuspected vulnerability to fire" (Ford 38). The vulnerability to fire was an unforeseen problem that lay within the Crystal Palace's design. Along with this flaw, there were a few obstacles that Paxton had to hurdle due to the fact that it was to be a temporary structure. Paxton couldn't use material that would be difficult to deconstruct but he had to have it be sturdy and durable.

This is described when the History of the Crystal Palace Website comments that, "It was to be of modular construction of three tiers, based on a 24 ft cube and reaching a maximum height of 64 ft, the length and width being 1,848 and 408 ft respectively" ("History of the Crystal Palace" 1). Since the building was to be like a giant greenhouse, there arose the issue of glass and how so much of it would be obtained: "The huge quantity of glass required, 900,000 sq ft, posed a problem for the manufacturers, Chance Brothers of Birmingham, which they solved by taking on French and Belgian glassblowers", ("The History of the Crystal" 2). Patrons and the Royal Committee also did not want to see some old, very tall trees in Hyde Park destroyed so Paxton rearranged the design to surround them with the building during construction. According to the History of the Crystal Palace, "The result was the barrel-vaulted transept which was to be the building's most graceful and distinguishing feature" (2). When all was said and done and said with, a beautiful work of architectural marvel was complete.

Everyone was in awe and the statistics for its construction prove why. Briggs observes that "The Crystal Palace itself, with its 293,655 panes of glass, its 330 standardized iron columns and its 24 miles of guttering, was the biggest and most extravagant of all the things on display, not just a building to house exhibits but in itself a symbol" (Briggs 54). Karwatka also points out that, "The cast iron and glass building covered over 21 acres of ground and even enclosed some elm trees" (Karwatka 1). He also comments that, "It was the first large prefabricated building" (1). The public also appreciated its beauty, some coming just to walk around in its inner beauty, which housed an extraordinary garden and fountains.

According to the Earl of Bess borough", 'The building itself is far more worth seeing than anything in it, though many of its contents are worthy of admiration' " (Charles-Edwards 254). The inside was even made to blend with the outside, thus, making it seem like nature itself was recreated. Detail went into the exact coloring that would be used in specific areas of the building. Going along with showcasing its colonies, colors of India were felt would accent the interior even more. Ford observes that: "A soft blue was used on the girders, which thus merged with the glass and the sky. The same blue was continued with bright yellow stripes and capitals on the columns and there were large parches of red behind the exhibits and in the galleries" (Ford 224).

The building was a success in the eyes of the public and royalty all the way up to Queen Victoria. The time came, though, when the Great Exhibition was over and the building was to be dismantled. Joseph Paxton had anticipated this day but wanted to preserve the building in some way. The public, also, wanted the building to remain.

Joseph Paxton attended a meeting at Parliament where he stated these views before the body. MacKenzie also notes that, "At a public meeting of 7 April it was moved 'that it is eminently desirable that the Crystal Palace should be preserved upon its present site, for purposes of public utility and recreation' " (MacKenzie 277). MacKenzie again notes that, "Parliament debated the issue on 27 April 1852 and determined that it should be removed" (277). Joseph Paxton had figured that this would be the final outcome for his building and had actually been investing time on the side to search out new locations for the building. Again, anticipating this outcome by Parliament, "Paxton had raised lb 500,000 to move the structure to a hilltop site at Sydenham" (Harwood 92).

When the time came, he dismantled it and reassembled it at the Sydenham location. Its rebuilding, however, came with a twist as noted by Harwood when stated that, "Paxton submitted to temptation and made the revised version even larger, with five storeys instead of three and three transepts instead of one" (92). It now sat upon, "two great stone terraces from which a monumental formal layout stretched downhill across the park" (92). People again flocked to the new and improved Crystal Palace. It became a cultural events center having all sorts of, "cultural, educational and recreational agendas", according to MacKenzie (278). As the time progressed with the second location, restoration took place starting in 1920.

However, according to Harwood, during restoration, though, a freak occurrence took place and, "on 30 November 1936 a fire in a lavatory spread in minutes to consume the whole building (Harwood 92). The Crystal Palace not only housed an amazing show of Britain's cultural and economic strength, but it brought about an architectural style that would be copied through time. Its memory has definitely not been forgotten either, being that a football club in England has named themselves the Crystal Palace. Its influence can be seen in any large dome constructed of glass. These examples are seen in public places we walk past every day and places we hear about. O'Hare Airport's International Terminal and the Bio Dome that was in Arizona all have used the Crystal Palace as a guide to their construction.

Its beauty has been passed on through generations of influential architects.