A massive fire burnt down the Crystal Palace in 1936.

The historic Crystal Palace, which was once the largest glass structure in the world, is to be brought back to life under new plans to rebuild it as a modern-day cultural attraction.

It is to be rebuilt on the site of the original Victorian building in southeast London, according to the plans announced by the Chinese investment firm Zhong-Rong Group.

The new building is set to be of “the same size and scale” as the gigantic pre-fabricated building of iron and glass designed by Joseph Paxton for the 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, a spokesman said.

A year of consultation and design development before plans could be formally submitted by autumn 2014 and winter 2015 is being earmarked for work on the big building to begin

It was the largest glass structure in the world before it was destroyed by fire in 1936. It was later expanded and relocated to south London and the area became known as Crystal Palace.

The surrounding public park is also to be restored “to its former glory through landscaping, planting and new and improved facilities for the public,” the spokesman added.

Most of the original site is now unused by the public with a small section used for small-scale temporary events.

A year of consultation and design development before plans could be formally submitted by autumn 2014 and winter 2015 is being earmarked for work on the big build to begin.

Chinese real estate mogul Ni Zhaoxing, the chairman of the ZhongRong Group, is set to attend the launch in southeast London.

The self-made billionaire has interests in real estate and energy. He invested in Shanghai real estate more than a decade ago, and has reaped profits from its subsequent boom, through projects such as ZhongRong Jasper Tower in the Lujiazui financial district, according to Forbes.

The plans are also supported by London mayor Boris Johnson and Bromley Council leader Stephen Carr who are set to attend the launch.

The original building, with its skeleton of cast-iron columns supporting a network of girders, was based on a 7.3-metre module of parts pre-fabricated in Birmingham. It not only was innovative technologically, but also used many other industrial skills and inventions of the time, according to the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The Crystal Palace used 300,000 sheets in the largest size ever made (1.3m x 25.3cm). Steam engines on site drove the machinery to cut the wooden glazing bars as well as the 48km of Paxton’s patent guttering used to hold the glass in position on its simple but effective ridge and furrow roof.

What was the glass structure like?

Sir Joseph Paxton

English gardener and architect Joseph Paxton’s # building provided nearly 74,000 square metres of exhibition space, which was a great deal more than the French exhibition of 1844, six times bigger than the floor space of St Paul’s Cathedral and about the size of five modern football pitches. It took only nine months to build on the edge of Hyde Park in London, and as well as the glass panels, it was also made of a wrought iron frame with a special wooden floor with gaps between to make it easier to sweep at the end of the day.

Many new inventions were also created to make the building, such as a trolley suspended from the ceiling for the glazers to use when they were putting the glass in the windows at the higher levels, and a special machine to help to put up the 48 kilometres of guttering on the outside.

Facts and features

Length – 563 metres

Width – 124 metres

Height – 32 metres

Space inside – 71,793 square metres, including a further 20,170 square metres of galleries on a different floor around the inside.

Inside volume – 33 million cubic feet

Materials used – 550 tons of wrought iron; 3,500 tons of cast iron; 83,612 square metres of glass; and 182,880 metres of wooden planking;325 kilometres of sash bars; and 48 kilometres of gutters