Let’s Know – The Dancing House, Prague

The Prague Dancing House is a property of the great historical significance which resembles the legendary Hollywood dance duo- Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It is the most noticeable postmodern architecture in Prague and is a significant part of the Czech capitals architecture. Since most of the buildings in the neighbourhood are in the Art Noveau style, this unconventionally shaped building is an example of the Neo-Baroque architectural style.

Vclav Havel, the former president of Czechoslovakia and the first president of the Czech Republic was the key factor behind this most original building in Prague. Construction began in 1992 and was successfully built in 1996. The vision of Vclav Havel was to establish this site as a new centre of cultural and social life. The construction process was sponsored by the Dutch insurance company Nationale-Nederlanden (now known as ING Bank).

Vlado Miluni is the architect of the Dancing House. He was coordinated by Frank Gehry, a famous Canadian-born American postmodernist architect. The legend of the Dancing house spans back to the result of World War II when the former building standing on the place was demolished during the bombing of Prague by the Allies.

Now the Dancing House is admired as the most outstanding creation of postmodern architecture in Prague. It has established itself as a landmark and a vital part of the cityscape. It is based on a reinforced concrete architecture with 99 distinctively shaped adjoined facade panels. The frontispiece consists of two towers, echoing a dancing couple. There is a dome called The Medusa on the top of the Dancing House. The building has 9 stories and the rooms in it are asymmetrical.

This futuristic house is also an example of deconstructivist architecture. In the Dancing House, there are mostly offices, and there is a French restaurant with a stunning scene over Prague at the top. The Czech National Bank honoured the Dancing House by featuring it on a gold 2,000 Czech koruna coin.