Global Design: Analysis of historic environments and planning for resilient communities: The Dancing House

Current view of exterior

Although Prague contains primarily historical architecture, there are a few examples of modern architecture throughout the city. The Dancing House, designed by Frank Gehry and Vlado Milunic, was designed in 1992 and completed by 1996. The Dancing house is significant because it lies on historical property. The building that used to exist in its place was bombed and destroyed by the United States in 1945. The new non traditional design was extremely controversial during the time of its construction due to the fact that it is surrounded by Art Nouveau, Gothic and Baroque architecture. The building is nicknamed Fred and Ginger, which is named after the famous dancers Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It is named this because the architecture looks like a pair of dancers. The curves and organic shapes of the building were carefully observed and studied while I sketched the Dancing house.

This is a drawing that I did of his building

During our trip to Prague our group met with the co-architect Vlado Milunic, and he shared his story and process of designing the Dancing House. He gave us a wonderful presentation about the history behind the building, the obstacles he had to take while designing it, and he finished the presentation with a walking tour throughout the building. It was very inspiring to hear the struggles and accomplishments of the beautiful and famous building. This building is a great example of how resilient the city of Prague is and how even after war and bombing it still remains beautiful today.