Reverse-engineering of the Crystal Palace to connect the history of construction technology with the history of architecture

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K13909
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 23040:Architectural history and design-related
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: KOMIYAMA YOSUKE 京都大学, 工学研究科, 講師 (40815833)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: クリスタル・パレス / 構法史

Outline of Final Research Achievements

By comparing the Crystal Palace with similar buildings of the same period, focusing on the materiality and shape of the components and the joints, we can see that the techniques applied to the Crystal Palace were not always chosen on the basis of pure rationality. There were other similarly conceived iron and glass buildings of the same period, sometimes with more rational detailing than the Crystal Palace. The Crystal Palace is one of countless examples of a transitional phase in the acceptance of iron in architecture. This also confirms the involvement of many other people in the construction process besides Joseph Paxton, who is usually regarded as the designer.

Free Research Field

建築構法史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

クリスタル・パレスの構法史を介して「建築史」と同時代社会状況との接続を行うことができた。西洋建築史・近代建築史学分野においてはこれまでに無い、歴史・意匠（思想）・生産（構法）の橋渡しとなる学際的研究として、建築構法史学を位置づけることができた。そこには、技術と建築と社会の関係性、また発注者・設計者・技術者・施工者・利用者が何を共通言語として建築を語り得るのかという現代につながる社会的意義も見いだすことができる。