Crystal Palace tends to be treated as an iconographic image of iron and glass in architectural history although it was a hybrid structure of iron, glass and timber. To understand its materiality correctly, the areas where wood was used is analyzed using the descriptions in working drawings published after it was constructed.. The areas where wood was used are broadly divided into three types. A: as an alternative to iron and glass, B: as a reflection of Joseph Paxton’s knowledge and experience, and C: to add lightness to the iron structure and to compensate for its elasticity.
