Over centuries, architecture has prompted musical reform, even on a microcosmic level. Buildings are designed with two objectives, that of form and function. One of the most intriguing architectural feats of the 19th century was the Crystal Palace, which set precedents in both regards. The Crystal Palace was a monolith building made entirely of glass. Hector Berlioz wrote several letters detailing both the visual and acoustical abnormalities of such an unusual structure, whose cavernous space required an exceedingly large ensemble. The Crystal Palace was built to house the Great Exhibition of 1851, displaying industrial advancements in all disciplines, from scientific inventions to representations of far-off cultures, to the foremost musical
