Designed by a duke's gardener, and built in 17 weeks in london's hyde park to house the first world's fair in 1851, the crystal palace was dismantled in 1852 and re-erected on the eastern slopes of sydenham hill, where it was destroyed by an accidental fire in 1936. Description of its modular construction, prefabricated elements and glass walls, which anticipated modern aesthetics and methods. With 14 figures.