The Crystal Palace

Joseph Paxton's Crystal Palace for The Great Exhibition of 1851, stands stall as the shining light for systems buildings.

Modules: Designed to fit a structural and cladding module.

Rapid Erection: 989 884 square feet in 39 weeks.

Dry assembly

Interchangeable Components

Demountability: The building was dismantled in 1852 and re-erected on Sydenham Hill in1854.

Mechanized erection: The use of mechanized erection techniques included a roof glazing wagon.

Own Scaffold: The building's framework was it’s own scaffolding.
Once four columns, connecting pieces and girders were in place, the structure became self-supporting.

Multiple Configurations: The entire building, including the arched transcepts and vaults, were constructed from the same set of components. A contemporary of Paxton’s, even suggested that the components could be transfigured into a 1000 foot tower! However, the cast-iron supports would not have been strong enough to uphold such a structure.

Prefabrication: All components were prefabricated, mass-produced and standardized.

Unified Building Team: The designer, engineers and suppliers worked as one organization.

This building was conceived 150 years ago!
A non-architect leads the way.
Look outside the box, there could be more.


The Crystal Palace: An expanded version of the article above.
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