Ferrovitreous Architecture

Ferrovitreous architecture combines iron and glass as both structural and decorative materials, its name built from ferro, for iron, and vitreous, for glass. Construction of this kind can be traced as far back as the seventeenth century, but it became a defining approach during the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as the production of iron and steel expanded across Europe, and it was frequently used for the buildings raised for world exhibitions of the period. The Crystal Palace, designed by Joseph Paxton, the Palm House at Kew Gardens, and the Coal Exchange in London are three notable examples, each showing how iron and glass together could create large, functional structures that became defining features of Industrial Age architecture.