<P> In 2013 a Chinese developer proposed to re-build the Crystal Palace but the developer's sixteen - month exclusivity agreement with Bromley council to develop its plans was cancelled when it expired in February 2015 . </P> <P> The huge, modular, wood, glass and iron structure was originally erected in Hyde Park in London to house the Great Exhibition of 1851, which showcased the products of many countries throughout the world . </P> <P> The Commission in charge of mounting the Great Exhibition was established in January 1850, and it was decided at the outset that the entire project would be funded by public subscription . An executive Building Committee was quickly formed to oversee the design and construction of the exhibition building, comprising Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Robert Stephenson, renowned architects Charles Barry and Thomas Leverton Donaldson, the Duke of Buccleuch and the Earl of Ellesmere, and chaired by William Cubitt . By 15 March 1850 they were ready to invite submissions, which had to conform to several key specifications: the building had to be temporary, simple, as cheap as possible, and economical to build within the short time remaining before the Exhibition opening, which had already been scheduled for 1 May 1851 . </P> <P> Within three weeks, the committee had received some 245 entries, including 38 international submissions from Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Hanover, Switzerland, Brunswick, Hamburg and France . Two designs, both in iron and glass, were singled out for praise - one by Richard Turner, co-designer of the Palm House at Kew, and the other by French architect Hector Horeau but despite the great number of submissions, the Committee rejected them all . Turner was furious at the rejection, and reportedly badgered the commissioners for months afterwards, seeking compensation, but at an estimated £ 300,000, his design (like Horeau's) was too expensive . As a last resort the committee came up with a standby design of its own, for a brick building in the rundbogenstil by Donaldson, featuring a sheet - iron dome designed by Brunel but it was widely criticized and ridiculed when it was published in the newspapers . Adding to the Committee's woes, the site for the Exhibition was still not confirmed; the preferred site was in Hyde Park, adjacent to Princes Gate near Kensington Rd, but other sites considered included Wormwood Scrubs, Battersea Park, the Isle of Dogs, Victoria Park and Regent's Park . Opponents of the scheme lobbied strenuously against the use of Hyde Park (and they were strongly supported by The Times). The most outspoken critic was arch - conservative Col. Charles de Laet Waldo Sibthorp; he denounced the Exhibition as "one of the greatest humbugs, frauds and absurdities ever known", and his trenchant opposition to both the Exhibition and its building continued even after it had closed . </P>

Why is winston drawn to the piece of glass