The glorious, airy Crystal Palace collapsed in a pile of melted glass and iron after the disastrous fire of 1936. Now Joseph Paxton's vision may be recreated in the more modest form of a translucent airship on slender poles - modelled on a successful "baby Zeppelin" at the Magna science centre in South Yorkshire by Wilkinson Eyre Architects.
Ever since 1936, suggestions for a new palace have taxed planners and residents, complicated by some 17 acts of parliament relating to the wooded and grassy hillside in south London. The palace's replica dinosaurs - one of Paxton's money-earning sidelines, which even many Victorians considered tacky - have been restored, but the hilltop defied all comers. A £45m "glass palace in the sky" would break the curse, according to Wilkinson Eyre, the firm of architects commissioned to present ideas by the Crystal Palace Campaign run by local residents. It was approached after the defeat of a planned leisure, shopping and hotel scheme and a survey of 40,000 homes that called for a cultural building surrounded by a large park. "Our design is an arts venue for the 21st century, combining a sculpture park with an iconic building made of glass," said a spokesman for Wilkinson Eyre. "The building occupies the same space as the transept of the palace, is the same height, and follows the same line of the original transverse aisle. "It will float above the highest tree-lined ridge in London." read full Guardian Article
The building will house the biggest room in London A £45m glass building could "float" 54 metres above a south London park if plans are given the go ahead. read full BBC article
