Palacio de Cristal

The Palacio de Cristal is a glass and metal structure located in Madrid's Buen Retiro Park. It was built in 1887 to exhibit flora and fauna from the Philippines, then a Spanish colonial possession. The architect was Ricardo Velázquez Bosco.The Palacio de Cristal, in the shape of a Greek cross, is made almost entirely of glass set in an iron framework on a brick base, which is decorated with ceramics. Its cupola makes the structure over 22 metres high. When it was erected, glass and iron construction on a large scale was already to be seen in Madrid at Delicias station, the work of a French architect. However the curved architecture of the Palacio de Cristal is more comparable to the techniques pioneered by the British architects Joseph Paxton and Decimus Burton .The cast-iron frame was manufactured in Bilbao. The structure was designed in a way that would allow it to be re-erected on another site . However, the building has remained on the original site, next to a lake, and has been restored to its original appearance. It is no longer used as a greenhouse, and is currently used for art exhibits.