Czech: Dance in Architecture

The Dancing House, officially known as the Nationale-Nederlanden is an iconic building designed by Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunic in association with the Canadian-American architect Frank O. Gehry in the city of Prague. The building was designed in 1992 and completed in 1996.

The project was funded by the Dutch company ING with almost unlimited budget and artistic freedom.

Ginger and Fred, the inspiration

"Ginger and Fred" by Vlado Milunic and Frank Gehry,
Source: http://openbuildings.com/

The project was christened "Ginger and Fred" by Gehry in allusion to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, one of the most iconic couples in American Popular movie history. The movie Ginger and Fred was released in 1986, potrayed by Italian actors Marcello Mastroianni and Giulette Masina. Situated along the banks of the Vltava, the building conjures up images of the dancing couple on the quay. 

Ginger and Fred. Source: Phillip Kay
Image courtesy Creative Commons

The Dancing Building on the quay,
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The design style, known as deconstructivism, was all about creation of "creative spaces" and unique structures that challenged basic principles & elements of built structure and defied the concept of right angles.  The building is composed of 99 concrete panels of different forms and shapes each requiring a unique wooden base, complete with a dome resembling a bob of hair.

"Fred", composed of curved wavy bands of concrete and non-aligned windows,
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"Ginger", The curved columns leading up to the tower of glass,
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Inside view of the curvy columns
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Ironically, the site previously had a Neo-Classical Building which was destroyed by an accidental American bombing incident in 1945. There was much contention regarding the non-traditional design of the house in an otherwise Art Nouveau, Baroque and Renaissance style neighbourhood. The building continues to stand out against the traditional landscape, drawing both admirers and critiques.

Standing out in the traditional architectural landscape in Prague
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Frank Gehry is known to design starting with conceptual sketches, followed by models using crumpled paper and found objects until the desired look is achieved before modelling it on CAD to prepare final drawings. CAD is crucial right into the execution of his designs since most of his buildings involve unique structural and technical challenges.

Contrasting elements of traditional and modern architecture,
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Paper model of University of Technology, Sydney by Frank Gehry,
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Appreciation of a design involves understanding the underlying context and principles. The concept of beauty is meant to associate with visions, objects and places that arouse pleasure. The dancing building has been often criticised for its unstable, fractured and fragmented look, bringing back images of war hit zones and catastrophe. To some, deconstructivist architecture is reminiscent of violence, destruction and catastrophe.

Imperial War Museum North by Libeskind in Manchester
Photograph © Andrew Dunn

UFA-Palast in Dresden, Germany, by Coop Himmelb(l)au
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Earthquake hit buildings in Chile
Source: Basulto , David. "Earthquake in Chile" 28 Feb 2010. ArchDaily. Accessed 06 Mar 2013