Second coming

摘要

We could have done with this show a few years ago, before the Millennium Dome was planned and built. Like the Dome, the Crystal Palace was constructed in London for a high-profile exhibition. But when that exhibition closed, the Crystal Palace remained viable for decades as a visitor attraction. In the case of the Crystal Palace, the innovative techniques used in its construction -its speedy assembly from prefabricated parts - meant the building could be dismantled if necessary, and re-erected at a location more suited to long-term occupation. Not that this was the novel approach of a full-time architect; Joseph Paxton was a gardener, and his plan for a giant greenhouse (the cousin of those at Chatsworth and Kew) is probably the most famous of the architectural designs that begin as scribbles on napkins and menus - or in this case a doodle on blotting paper during a meeting.