Frank Gehry & Vlado Milunić’s Dancing House (Tančící Dům)
If you ever visit Prague, the famous Nationale-Nederlanden building, nicknamed Dancing House (Tančící dům) or “Fred and Ginger,” is hard to miss. It sits in the middle of a densely built section of Prague, surrounded by other structures that are nearly all the city’s standard Baroque or Art Nouveau styles.
It was designed by Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunić and Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry on a vacant riverfront plot of great historical significance. Its site was the location of a house that was destroyed by the U.S. bombing of Prague in 1945 during World War II. The plot and structure lay decrepit until 1960 when the area was cleared.
The building’s deconstructivist dancing shape is supported by 99 concrete panels, each a different shape and dimension. On the top of the building is a large twisted structure of metal nicknamed Medusa. To see more photos of the quirky architectural marvel, visit the Tančící dům | Dancing House location page.