The first memorable World Expo is the “Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations” held in London on May 1, 1851, because it not only made the World Expo a major event on a global scale, but also let the people of the world remember an incomparablepalace – Crystal Palace.

The birth of Crystal Palace

Appearance of Crystal Palace

It can be said that the first impression left to the later generations by the World Expo held in London in 1851 is undoubtedly the emerged Crystal Palace, which was a glass house planned to accommodate more than 100,000 pieces of treasures delivered by 14,000 exhibitors from the five continents. However, unexpectedly, the palace itself used to accommodate treasures became the most eye-catching exhibit and the biggest treasure instead.

The World Expo was held under the strong impetus of Prince Albert, husband of Queen Vitoria of Britain. When Britain announced to utilize 73,000 square meters of land in the Hyde Park to construct the World Expo in February 1850, the architects from the whole Europe were rubbing their hands and eager to have a try. The proposals submitted for the design competition came up to 245, but no one was accepted. At the most urgent and quandary moment when there was only ten months away from the opening ceremony of the World Expo, Joseph Paxton (1801-1865), the head gardener of Duke's Garden of Devonshire duly seized the opportunity to publish the design in the Illustrated London News with the power of the media and surged universal acclaim, which made the design of "Crystal Palace" finally accepted.

Designer of Crystal Palace, Joseph Paxton

The design of Crystal Palace is inspired by a giant Victoria amazonicawater lily. Paxton ever let his daughter stand on one of the big leaves of the lily, and she was easily lifted up as expected. He observed that the vertical and transverse stems on the leaves of the lily were annularly interlaced, able to withstand supernormal load, which is a key inspiration to his design. Because he had ever successfully applied bionics in the construction of the “ribbed structure” of the large glass greenhouse in Chatsworth House, upon knowing the quandary in the construction of the World Expo, he was suddenly inspired, and then gave the birth of the stunning glass palace.

Design Sketch of Crystal Palace

It only took half a year from groundbreaking on July 30, 1850 to the completion of roofing, and then to final glazing. The building magically caught up with the opening ceremony of the World Expo, and the “Crystal Palace” also created a speed miracle in the world architectural industry. With three layers, the Palace was 564m (1,851ft, in coincidence with the opening year of the World Expo) long, 139 m wide, 33m high. Quite unlike any other traditional building piled with rocks and bricks, the building fully utilized the cutting edge British technology in iron and glass, and the entire building was shining under the sun, and hence the romantic name of “Crystal Palace”. As an epoch-making architecture, the “Crystal Palace” was the first building constructed with the modern building materials of that time, the first large building able to house 10,000 people simultaneously in one day, and the first building assembled with fully prefabricated parts. 

Significance of the Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace housed a dazzling array of exhibits including the industrial products, art works and artistic sculptures from many countries throughout the world. A constant stream of visitors, with curiosity and expectation, came to enjoy the sight of these priceless treasures from different countries. The World Expo was not only a feast of eyes, but also pioneered the free trade for later coming decades. With all the exhibits represented the development tendency of modern industrialization and the unlimited imagination of human being, the World Expo indicated the arrival of industrial production era.

Opening Ceremony of World Expo 1851

The Crystal Palace itself was a giant works of art. It rejected the classical decorative style, and showed people a fresh architectural aesthetics with obvious lithe, bright, transparent and thin features. Here, you were free to look around. You could carefully watch the superb collection of exhibits, and looked over the blue sky through the thin glass curtain wall. You were enjoyable, where the indoor and outdoor outlines became blurred and integrated as one, and you could feel the warmth of the sun in the spacious room.

Indoor Setting of Crystal Palace

As a brand new and unprecedented building, the Crystal Palace was famous not for its luxury material and exquisite decoration, but for the humanistic spirit, artistic accomplishment and infinite creativity that it passed on. Some people esteemed the Crystal Palace just like the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome, and some people regarded it as a wonderful and romantic midsummer night’s dream.

Continuance of Crystal Palace

The architectural feature of the Crystal Palace was unique, which could not be seen from other traditional architectures at that time. It had been used as a reference for the design of exhibition galleries of different sessions of World Expo until the end of the nineteenth century. The World Expo 1853 New York was almost the replica of the Crystal Palace. Emperor Napoleon III requested to design the exhibition gallery of the World Expo 1855 Paris based on the planning of the Crystal Palace in London. The World Expo 1862 London still followed the style of the Crystal Palace, with the only difference being that the entrance of the exhibition gallery was decorated with a sculpture. The stack-up ceiling of the exhibition gallery of the World Expo 1867 Paris was also made of steel frame and glass. Although there was more or less change seen on the exhibition galleries of the later sessions of the World Expo, their embryonic form was still the Crystal Palace in London, and the structure of the glass greenhouse even became an example for many churches, stations and department stores to follow.

Indoor Setting of World Expo 1853 New York

Grandeur of World Expo 1862 London in Britain

Outdoor Scene of World Expo 1867 Paris

Former Site of Crystal Palace

After the closing of London World Expo, the Crystal Palace was relocated and expanded at Sydenham in the south of London, becoming a key Culture, Sports and Exhibition Center in Britain until its destruction by fire in 1936. Even though there was no Crystal Palace on the world any more, as a classical work in the World Expo galleries, the Crystal Palace pioneered the unprecedented architectural style that will continue to pass on, and the legendary palace will never fade from people’s memory.

Paying a Tribute to Crystal Palace

The chief architect of East China Architectural Design Research Institute, Wang Xiaoan, once said that “Clouds of Celebration”, the landmark of World Expo Museum, not only passes on a good meaning, but also serves as a good place for people to get gathered and communicate. At night time, the propitious clouds and the resplendent colorful lights are floating on the top of the valley, permeating a festive atmosphere into the night sky. Climbing onto the propitious clouds floating above the roof of the building, we can have a panorama over the landscape of Pudong and Puxi parks of the World Expo 2010 Shanghai, and the beautiful scenery of Huangpu River, just like a transparent crystal palace.

Wang Xiaoan, Chief Architect of East China Architectural Design Research Institute

 “Clouds of Celebration”

World Expo Museum pays a tribute to London Crystal Palace where held the first session of the World Expo over 160 years ago.