ARC423 Advanced Building Systems

Lecture Notes for Friday March 7, 2003

• At the end of the exhibit, there were proposals to keep the building as a permanent fixture.
• Paxton suggest modifications for the Palace.
• 1852, New York City builds its own "crystal palace" by James Bogardus. It eventually catches on fire and is destroyed. But it is evident that the idea of industrialization is beginning to become popular in building construction.
• After the exhibition the building is disassembled. In 1854 Paxton’s syndicate purchases land on the outskirts of London in Kent on Sydenham Hill and rebuilds the building in a new form. The volume of the building is much larger.
• The new function of the building is an arboretum. 22 boilers are required to heat the building year round.
• Lower columns are new and are the same dimensions as earlier columns but has thicker walls to carry extra load.
• The new building has more vaulting, giving it more architectural character.
• Financially the new building is not as successful.
• The building lasted until 1936 when a major fire consumed the building.
• The crystal palace was a very open system at the time. But at the same time the components were limited to the kit of parts from which it was made.
• Contemporary open systems are composed of parts which can be ordered from a catalogue.

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