https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/10/how-londons-crystal-palace-was-built-so-quickly/ Skip to content Ars Technica home Sections Forum Subscribe * AI * Biz & IT * Cars * Culture * Gaming * Health * Policy * Science * Security * Space * Tech * Feature * Reviews * Store * AI * Biz & IT * Cars * Culture * Gaming * Health * Policy * Science * Security * Space * Tech Forum Subscribe Theme * Light * Dark * System Search dialog... Search for: [ ] Search Sign In Sign in dialog... Sign in A turn of a screw How London's Crystal Palace was built so quickly New study finds it was the earliest-known building to use a standard screw thread. Jennifer Ouellette - Oct 4, 2024 4:29 pm The Crystal Palace and water tower in London, 1854 The Crystal Palace and water tower in London, 1854 Credit: Philip Henry Delamotte/Public Domain 203 London's Great Exhibition of 1851 attracted some 6 million people eager to experience more than 14,000 exhibitors showcasing 19th-century marvels of technology and engineering. The event took place in the Crystal Palace, a 990,000-square-foot building of cast iron and plate glass originally located in Hyde Park. And it was built in an incredible 190 days. According to a recent paper published in the International Journal for the History of Engineering and Technology, one of the secrets was the use of a standardized screw thread, first proposed 10 years before its construction, although the thread did not officially become the British standard until 1905. "During the Victorian era there was incredible innovation from workshops right across Britain that was helping to change the world," said co-author John Gardner of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU). "In fact, progress was happening at such a rate that certain breakthroughs were perhaps never properly realized at the time, as was the case here with the Crystal Palace. Standardization in engineering is essential and commonplace in the 21st century, but its role in the construction of the Crystal Palace was a major development." The design competition for what would become the Crystal Palace was launched in March 1850, with a deadline four weeks later, and the actual, fully constructed building opened on May 1, 1851. The winning design, by Joseph Paxton, wasn't chosen until quite late in the game after numerous designs had been rejected--most because they were simply too far above the 100,000-pound budget. Joseph Paxton's first sketch for the Great Exhibition Building, c. 1850, using pen and ink on blotting paper Joseph Paxton's first sketch for the Great Exhibition Building, c. 1850, using pen and ink on blotting paper. Credit: Victoria and Albert Museum/CC BY-SA 3.0 Joseph Paxton's first sketch for the Great Exhibition Building, c. 1850, using pen and ink on blotting paper. Credit: Victoria and Albert Museum/CC BY-SA 3.0 Paxton's design called for what was essentially a giant conservatory consisting of a multidimensional grid of 24-foot modules. The design elements included 3,300 supporting columns with four flange faces, drilled so they could be bolted to connecting and base pieces. (The hollow columns did double duty as drainage pipes for rainwater.) The design also called for diagonal bracing (aka cross bracing) for additional stability. The cross braces were bolted, which could have been a major headache, since screws were traditionally made by skilled craftsmen, such that no two were exactly alike and it was nearly impossible to replace lost or broken screws. Paxton's design called for 30,000 nuts and bolts; screws with a consistent thread form would have streamlined the construction process considerably. James Whitworth had proposed a common standard thread in an 1841 paper, based on his analysis of an extensive collection of screw bolts from the main British producers. And thanks to the invention of Henry Maudslay's screw-cutting lathe around 1798, the technology needed to create standard screws already existed. The finished Crystal Palace earned Paxton worldwide acclaim and a knighthood from Queen Victoria. Once the exhibition had ended, the entire structure was relocated to the affluent suburb of Sydenham. (Also relocated to the surrounding Crystal Palace Park: the life-sized concrete dinosaur models created for the exhibition by English sculpture and natural history artist Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins.) Alas, in November 1936, a fire broke out after an explosion in the women's cloakroom. The Crystal Palace was destroyed; the only surviving structures were two water towers and a part of the main nave. The South Tower was dismantled soon after because it was too unstable, while the North Tower was demolished with explosives in 1941. Nuts and bolts Gardner was intrigued by the question of how the Crystal Palace was constructed so quickly and thought the thread form question might be relevant. So he enlisted the help of co-author Ken Kiss, curator of the Crystal Palace Museum. Kiss had excavated the original columns at the Sydenham site (which were also used at the original Hyde Park site), and the men were able to take relevant measurements for their research. an original nut fits a newly manufactured bolt made to British Standard Whitworth An original nut fits a newly manufactured bolt made to British Standard Whitworth. Credit: John Gardner, Anglia Ruskin University An original nut fits a newly manufactured bolt made to British Standard Whitworth. Credit: John Gardner, Anglia Ruskin University "Unfortunately, none of these braces or bolts have been found in existence, and the thread form is not specified in surviving drawings," the authors wrote. "These would have been expensive items to produce, and it is highly likely that they would have been re-used at Sydenham rather than being scrapped then remade after such a short time." Although the threads in the drawings did feature slightly rounded peaks and troughs consistent with Whitworth's thread form, Gardner and Kiss knew they needed more tangible evidence. They found it in the remains of the building and the south water tower nearby. A column bolt from the building matched the Whitworth measurements. They also found a nut and bolt at the water tower. After soaking them in oil, they heated and hammered the objects to remove all the accumulated rust, revealing screw threads that also matched the Whitworth measurements. For good measure, Gardner made his own new bolts following the Whitworth standard and they fit nicely into the original nuts. Gardner and Kiss had their answer: The Crystal Palace was constructed with a standardized screw thread. "Often technical objects such as nuts and bolts seem distant from the human, based in theories and standards that are set from above," the authors concluded. "However, the Whitworth screw thread is in fact an organic form with human practice at its center. It is a form that has influenced all standard thread forms since." International Journal for the History of Engineering and Technology, 2024. DOI: 10.1080/17581206.2024.2391984 (About DOIs). Photo of Jennifer Ouellette Jennifer Ouellette Senior Writer Jennifer Ouellette Senior Writer Jennifer is a senior reporter at Ars Technica with a particular focus on where science meets culture, covering everything from physics and related interdisciplinary topics to her favorite films and TV series. Jennifer lives in Baltimore with her spouse, physicist Sean M. Carroll, and their two cats, Ariel and Caliban. 203 View Comments Comments Forum view Loading Loading comments... Prev story Next story Most Read 1. 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