Dancing House, Prague, Czech Republic (1996)
Prague’s classically styled architecture is interrupted by this wavy, asymmetrical design by renown Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunic, working with famed architect Frank Gehry. The site, once a house bombed during World War II, was adjacent to property owned by Vaclav Havel, a community leader who would later serve as president of the Czech Republic. Havel contacted his neighbor, architect Vlado Milunic, about developing the neighboring vacant site. Dutch insurance company Nationale-Nederlanden financed the building, but they asked the pair to collaborate with American architect Frank Gehry. The architects conceived a plan for two very different buildings, one static and one looking dynamic, ever moving and twisting, to symbolize the Czech Republic’s transition from a communist country to a parliamentary democracy. It looked different than the buildings around it, but its deconstructivist style has gained the area a great deal of attention and accolades.
