WORK 25/195 and COPY 1/21 The Great Exhibition

In 1851, the Great Exhibition opened in London. The exhibition was a showcase of the products and culture of countries from all around the world. Six million people (one third of the population of Britain at the time) visited the exhibition. A special building was designed and built to house the 14,000 exhibitors and their inventions. It was three times bigger than St Paul’s Cathedral and was made from iron and glass. It became known as The Crystal Palace. The building built to house the exhibition was just as exciting to people as the things contained inside.

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Look carefully at the documents:

  • How can you tell that the architect Joseph Paxton, was in fact a gardener? Does the building he designed remind you of something you might find in a garden?
  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of building out of glass?