Dancing House
Deconstructivist landmark by Milunić and Gehry on the Vltava, with a gallery and rooftop terrace.
The Dancing House stands on a corner of the Rašín Embankment left empty after a building was destroyed in the American bombing of Prague in February 1945. The Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunić, who lived next door, developed the idea for the site and was joined in 1992 by Frank Gehry; construction ran from 1994 to 1996. The design pairs a glass tower that appears to lean into a solid stone-faced block, a contrast the architects described in terms of a dancing couple.
The nickname Fred and Ginger, after Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, was coined by the American press and is little used in Czech. A twisted metal sculpture by Vlado Milunić called Medusa crowns the roof. The building holds offices, a hotel, a restaurant with a rooftop terrace and the Dancing House Gallery, which mounts changing exhibitions of Czech and international art and material on the history of the building itself.
Highlights
- Leaning glass tower paired with a solid riverside block
- Designed by Vlado Milunić with Frank Gehry, 1992-1996
- Rooftop terrace and Glass Bar with views over the Vltava
- Dancing House Gallery with changing exhibitions
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