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Pa 1340

GROUND PLAN.

THE BUILDING FOR THE EXHIBITION OF ALL NATIONS, 1851, COMMONLY CALLED THE CRYSTAL PALACE

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manufacture at the building which would be provided for them. Mr. Paxton, after some other designs had been set aside, submitted a design composed chiefly of glass and iron, which Messrs. Fox, Henderson, & Co. tendered to construct for 79,8004. This was immediately carried into effect.

The site for the building contained about 26 acres, being 2,300 feet in length, and 500 feet in breadth; the principal front extending from west to east. The total area of the ground-floor was 772,784 superficial feet, and that of the galleries 217,100 square feet. The length of these galleries extended nearly a mile. The cubical contents of the building were estimated at 33,000,000 feet.

There were used in its construction 2,300 cast iron girders, 358 wrought iron trusses for supporting the galleries and roof, 30 miles of gutters for carrying water to the columns which served as water-pipes, 202 miles of sash-bars, and 900,000 superficial feet of glass.

On the ground-floor, 1,106 columns of cast iron, rested on cast iron plates, based upon concrete; these columns were 8 inches in diameter, and 18 feet 5 inches in height; they were cast hollow, the thickness of the metal varying from to 1 in., according to the weights they were destined to support. The sectional area was increased by four broad fillets or faces, 3 inches in width, and a little more than a sixth of an inch in thickness.

The principal entrance was in the centre of the south side; passing through a vestibule 72 feet by 48, the transept was entered, which was covered by a semi-cylindrical vault 72 feet in diameter, springing from a height of 68 feet from the floor; and this vault of ron and glass was in length 408 feet from north to south. On each side of the transept was an aisle 24 feet wide.

Standing in the middle of the transept, the vista or nave, at right angles, extended east and west 900 feet in each direction; the total length being 1,848 feet. This nave was

72 feet wide, and 64 feet high; and on each side was an aisle 24 feet in width; and above, at a height of 24 feet from the floor, were galleries which surrounded the whole of the nave and transept.

Beyond these side aisles and parallel with them, at a distance of 48 feet, were second side aisles, of an equal width to those already mentioned, and also covered with galleries on a similar level to the others. Bridges of communication were made at convenient distances, to allow of an unbroken promenade, and from which a view of the several courts might be obtained. These courts were roofed in, at the height of 2 stories, and were 48 feet in width. Ten double staircases 8 feet wide gave access to the several galleries.

After the transept and nave were marked out, the general arrangement consisted of a series of compartments 24 feet square, and as much in height; these bays or cubes were each formed of 4 columns, supporting girders put together very ingeniously. One of these bays or gallery-floors, 24 feet square, containing 576 superficial feet, was calculated to support as many cwts., or 30 tons.

The symmetry and strength of this vast building depended upon the accuracy with which the simple plan was drawn out, and much credit is due to Mr. Brounger, who superintended this portion of the work. He had to establish a series of squares of 24 feet, and this was admirably effected by rods of well-seasoned pine, fitted with gun-metal cheeks.

Stakes were driven into the ground to mark the position of the columns, their precise centres being afterwards found by the theodolite, and marked by a nail on the top of the stake or pile; and when the digging commenced for the foundations, and there was a necessity to move the pile, a right-angled triangle was formed in deal, and previous to the removal of a stake, a nail indicating the position of the column was placed at the apex of the triangle; two other stakes were driven in, and the first withdrawn. The entire ground plan may be considered as composed of 1,453 squares, each containing 576 superficial feet. The south front occupied 77, the east and west fronts each 17, so that the entire parallelogram contained 1,309 of these squares; on the north side were 48 others, 3 divisions in depth, making an additional 144, thus completing the number stated. The nave, transept, and courts were formed by the omission of the columns, where their width required to be either 48 or 72 feet, and girders of sufficient strength were substituted to span the space where such columns were omitted. Had each of the 1,387 squares of which the plan consists had its complement of columns to have perfected each cube, 1,502 would have been required; but the formation of the wider openings occasioned only 1,106 to be employed, so that, by the omission of a third, the courts, nave, and transepts acquired their admired proportions. Each of the 1,387 squares was 576 superficial feet, or a total of 798,912 superficial feet. The columns being 8 inches in diameter, the area of the section of the whole 1,106 was 380 superficial feet, or the points of support were a trifle more than a 2,000th of the entire area, for 99122,102.

380

When we compare the Crystal Palace with one of the lightest constructed basilicas of ancient Rome, we are astonished at the difference in the proportions. For instance, the total area of the basilica of St. Paul without the walls of Rome, was 108,000 superficial feet; while the points of support were 12,000, or one ninth. The Crystal Palace, which was seven times the area of the basilica of St. Paul, had it been constructed in a similar manner, would have required 84,000 superficial feet for the points of support, instead of 380 superficial feet.

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In the Saxon cathedrals, one third of the entire area was employed for walls and piers; in the Pantheon at Rome, one quarter; in St. Paul's, London, one sixth; and in most of the cathedrals constructed from the 12th to the 15th century, the same proportions are practised; but we have never hitherto seen any attempt to lessen the proportions of the supports beyond a twentieth of the entire area, when the ordinary building materials, as brick or stone, have been employed, whilst in this instance iron columns are found sufficiently strong, when they have the proportion of a 2,000th part of the whole, or are one hundred times less in section than their points of support, estimated as a twentieth of the whole, and which we have considered as the lightest of the constructions hitherto practised; the round Temple of Claudius at Rome being the example. Tredgold calculated that an iron column of cast iron 8 inches in diameter, and 24 feet high, will carry nearly 50 tons, or 1,106, 55,300 tons; so that, if each of 1,387 squares had to sustain 30 tons, there would be ample strength, this not amounting to more than 41,610 tons.

In preparing the foundations for the columns, great care was taken to arrive at the gravel, upon which a bed of concrete was thrown; and it was estimated that a pressure per superficial foot of 2 tons should be provided for. The concrete varied in depth from 3 to 4 feet, and was finished by covering the top with a surface of fine mortar, worked even and with a level face. On this was laid a base plate for each column, the lower part consisting of a horizontal plate having attached to it a vertical tube of the form of the column it was to carry. The length of these base plates was from north to south, so that the water brought down by the columns from the roof might run in the direction from east to west. Into the sockets, cast iron pipes 6 inches in diameter were inserted, for the purpose of conveying the water into the cisterns and tanks provided to receive it.

At the upper portion of the base plate four holes were cast, in as many projections, which answered to others at the foot of the column to be placed upon it, which, when fixed, was secured by nuts. Between the shaft and its base, pieces of canvas dipped in white lead were introduced before the joints were secured, which were thus rendered watertight. The columns were 8 inches in diameter, and those on the ground floor 18 feet 5 inches in height, being cast hollow to allow of a current for the rain water; the strength of these columns was increased by four projecting ribs, and by the form of angular additions made to receive the nuts and screws.

The Crystal Palace at Sydenham had also the simple cube as the nucleus of which this vast

SPRINGING

edifice was composed; and the simplicity of its form enabled the constructors, by a small variety of castings, to execute the whole. It was to this locality that the materials of the Hyde Park building were removed and readapted to a much more extensive erection. Three cubes, placed one on the other, formed the side galleries, as seen in the section, fig. 1342 The omission of six such cubes ineasures the width and height of the nave to the level of the springing of the arched covering; such are the simple proportions composing this vast structure. On the ground-floor is laid boarding 1 inches in thickness, an inch apart, upon joists 7 inches by 2 inches, which rest upon sleepers 13 inches by 34 inches, placed 8 feet apart. The second tier of columns are 16 feet 74 inches long, with connecting pieces 3 feet 4 inches deep, and a similar girder to those below. The third tier of columns and connecting pieces in every case are the same as the second.

Fig.

XXIX

1342.

SECTION OF THE CRYSTAL PALACE, SYDENHAM.

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2861 to 2946. Mr. Gwilt wrote, in 1842, Chapter V., PUBLIC AND Private Buildings. The several sections were revised and enlarged and additional ones inserted in 1867, and again in 1876. The progress in most of the subjects, as well as of others, has been so great of late years that a volume for each might well be written, giving the later examples and principles of arrangement. As it is a convenient place in this work for specially treating some subjects, the chapter is retained under a new heading. The sections VENTILATION OF BUILDINGS and WARMING OF BUILDINGS are taken to USE OF MATERIALS OF PRACTICAL BUILDING, Chapters XIII. and XIV., and most of the other sections are inserted in the GLOSSARY. The student will find in the LIST OF BOOKS many works relating to the subjects, of which he may be in search.

SECT. I.
THEATRES.

2947. A taste for dramatic representations prevailed at a very early period among the people of antiquity, and this was not diminished by the introduction of Christianity, even when the temples were deserted and paganism seemed extinct. The destruction of these, however, was its concluding triumph. It would be a difficult matter to fix the precise date of the abolition of the pagan theatre, but it seems likely to have resulted rather from the falling into decay of the old theatres than from a disinclination on the part of the people to the pleasure they received at them. With the revival of the arts, the taste for scenic representations appeared with the literature on which they are dependent. In Italy we find, therefore, the drama at this period represented in very large enclosures, such as the amphitheatre constructed by Bramante in the large court at the Vatican, whence the taste soon spread over all the nations of Europe.

2948. The pleasure which flowed from this renewal of an ancient art was at first confined to few, and those were either men of learning or select societies, who bore the expenses, and again raised in the country a renewal of a theatre much resembling those of the ancients as respected the form and disposition. To prove this, we need only cite the example of the celebrated theatre at Vicenza, built by Palladio in 1583, and designed in imitation of the ancient theatres. A full account of this building is given in L'Origine dell' Academia Olympica, &c. Opera di Ottavio Bertotti Scamozzi, Vicenza, 1690. For dramatic representations this theatre is no longer used, and at present it is only recognised as a monument of the extraordinary skill of the architect, and a memorial of the dramatic buildings of its period. The theatre at Parma, built by Aleotti, is another building belonging to the same class, and preserved, like the last-mentioned, as a curiosity. 2949. When, however, the taste for scenic amusements began to spread, the sovereign princes, who alone could support the expense of such establishments, began to make them a necessary part of their palaces; and the theatre, no longer a public and essential building, became what it now is, a place which served for the habitual amusement of those who could afford it. The drama again revived, and its history is an index to the edifices that rose for its representation. Becoming thus necessary for the amusement of the better classes of society, the establishment of theatres was undertaken by individuals in almost every city, and competition was the natural consequence. Then began the division of the theatre into different parts, the entry to which was marked by different prices, and the separation of the common people from those of rank and fortune.

2950. Italy does not contain so many theatres, nor of such consequence, as might be predicted from the taste of its inhabitants. Among the earliest of consequence was that built at Bologna in 1763 by Antonio Galli Bibiena (not to mention that built at Verona under the direction of the celebrated Scipio Maffei by Francesco Galli Bibiena), with a noble portico in front and salons in the angles, possessing moreover great merit in its

interior distribution. In the Italian theatres there is almost invariably a certain feeling of grandeur and unity about the interior little to be expected from the exterior, which in no way leads the spectator to the suspicion of a fine Salle de Spectacle behind it.

2951. France has the credit of having erected the first modern theatre that can be denominated an example in this species of monumental architecture. That to which we allude is the theatre at Bordeaux, which is 325 feet in length, and half that measure in width. Whether we consider the exterior or interior of this edifice, everything is grand; the accessories are worthy of the whole, and the richness of the interior decoration is only equalled by the fine forms whereon the decorations are used. The ingress and egress are admirable; and a splendid concert-room and magnificent staircases complete the destination, to which it is so suited, as to afford the finest model of a theatre to which we can refer the student. The plans, &c. of this work were published by its architect, V. Louis, under the title of Salle de Spectacle de Bordeaux, atlas folio, Paris, 1782.

2952. The principal points for the consideration of the architect in the composition of a theatre may be classed under the heads of utility, suitableness for the purpose, and taste in combining them. Under the first head must be placed the accomplishment of two main objects, those of seeing and hearing what passes on the stage. These, indeed, are intimately connected with each other, and are entirely dependent on the form adopted for the plan of the interior, that is, the general form given to the boxes which surround the part before the curtain. We are not aware of any plan which, in this respect, is not based on a quadrangular, elliptical, or circular form.

2953. The quadrangular form, besides its want of beauty, is not well adapted for fulfilling the objects with which we set out. In this, the greater number of spectators or audience who occupy the side boxes are so inconveniently placed, that, to observe what is going on, their heads must be turned sidewise, and they are hence in a false position for the object. The actor being generally the point to which all eyes are directed, the spectator opposite the proscenium will look at him in a right direction; but as the spectator removes to the extremity of the side, it is manifest that the angle in which the head must be turned becomes sharper, and the position is then painful. Besides this objection, the form is known to be unfavourable to hearing or to the propagation of sound.

2954. The truncated oval is in some measure subject to the same inconveniences on the sides as the last-mentioned figure. It removes also a large portion of the spectators to a considerable distance from the centre of the scene, besides which, in the boxes near the proscenium, their seats tend in opposite directions to the actor. It has been to remedy these faults that the form of the horseshoe has been adopted, which is a sort of mean between the quadrangular and oval forms: and where the plot of ground is much longer than it is wide, it is a suitable figure, and one which affords the opportunity of increasing the number of boxes.

2955. When, however, the circumstances concur in allowing it, the adoption of the semicircular plan is doubtless the best. It is a figure which allows each spectator to be at an equal distance from the scene, that also by which the spectators in adjoining boxes less interfere with one another, that which affords the means of all seeing equally well, that in which the sound is most equally distributed, and that whose uniformity and simplicity seem to engender the best decoration. The semi-elliptic, with the transverse axis parallel to the proscenium, has interior advantages in some respects over the semicircle; but it induces great difficulty in connecting the proscenium itself with the auditory part of the house, and, by increasing the width of the proscenium, increases the perplexity in framing (as formerly) the roof conveniently for the painting rooms, and securely as respects the walls. 2956. Upon the destruction by fire of Drury Lane Theatre a pamphlet appeared, entitled Observations on the Principles of a Design for a Theatre, by Benjamin Wyatt, London, 8vo. 1811. These observations are so well worth the notice of the student that we shall close this section by giving the substance of them. The heads for consideration, says the author, are:

2957. First. The size or capacity of the theatre, as governed by the width of the proscenium or stage opening; and by the pecuniary return to be made to those whose property may be embarked in the concern. Second. The form or shape of the theatre, as connected with the primary objects of sound and vision. Third. The facility of ingress and egress, as materially affecting the convenience of those who go to every part of the house respectively, as well as their lives, in cases of sudden accident or alarm. Fourth. Decorum amongst the several orders and classes of the visitants to the theatre, as essential to the accommodation of the more respectable part of those visitants, and consequently of great importance to the interests of the theatre. Fifth. Security against fire, as well in regard of insurance, as with relation to the lives of individuals going to the theatre.

2958. The size or capacity will necessarily depend very much on the width of the proscenium or stage opening, inasmuch as it is from the extremities of that opening that the form of the theatre must spring. The annexed is a statement of the width of the proscenium at the theatres named in that publication :

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