n to the old. The Crystal Palace could not have been more simple or direct, yet its historical overtones are inescapable: its modular layout and structure were a reflection of the medieval bay system; and in expanding a greenhouse to visionary dimensions,the builders appear to have turned to the format of the English cathedral a long, low, squared off, multi-aisled, stepped massing, into which a somewhat higherbarrel-vaulted transept was inserted to incorporate a huge living elm tree. (2)Since the material was inexpensive and readily available the plan was embraced by the contractors, mostly on the merit that the sections of the building were all pre-fabricated modules, able to be built anywhere. After each portion of the building was designed and built, the portions would be shipped to the parks site and installed to the base already formed there.The pre-fabrication methods sped up of the erection, which amazed many people. The structure in so many ways defined what the project was all about. Allowing new technologies and materials to redefine the way people built, designed and ultimately lived. Paxton wanted people to even let people in free once the exposition officially opened, but these idea was not even considered by anyone but him. He valued invention over beauty, but tried to show that invention could even redefine aesthetics. The plan apparently worked, and the media dubbed the building, The Crystal Palace....
