Arts Appreciation

Ay: 2018-2019

Joanne L. Ico

Student

Rochelle Jamito

Instructor

August 4, 2018

Date
I. Artist:

It was designed by Vlado Milunic a Croatian-Czech architect in cooperation with

Frank Gehrya a Canadian-American architect.

II. Description:

The Dancing House Hotel was constructed in 1992 and completed in 1996. It is

located at Prague, Czech Republic. Moreover, it has daring, curvy outlines, which led its

architects Vlado Milunic and the American Frank Owen Gehry to initially name it the "Fred and

Ginger Building", after the legendary dance duo.

III. Category:

Architectural Structure

IV. Artwork:

The Dancing House Hotel

V. What is it about?

The “Dancing House Hotel” is set on a property of great historical significance and the

building would become a center of cultural activity.

VI. What is it for?

The house is used as an office building. However, you can visit the French

restaurant on the roof with a magnificent view of the Vltava River and Prague Castle panorama.

The story of the Dancing house reaches back to the end of World War II, when the

previous building standing on the site was destroyed during the bombing of Prague by the Allies.

During the Communist era (1948 – 1989), nothing was built there, and it was only after the

“Velvet revolution” when Václav Havel came with a vision.

The world renowned Czech dissident, writer, philosopher, and later the last president

of Czechoslovakia and first president of the Czech Republic (after the Czech Republic and the

Slovakian Republic split in 1993) wished the site to be used for building up a new centre of

cultural and social life. It would symbolise the arrival of democracy to Bohemia after 1989, an

exciting era full of hope.

VII. What is it made of?

In the middle of a square of buildings from the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the

Dancing House has two main parts. The first is a glass tower that narrows at half its height and is

supported by curved pillars; the second runs parallel to the river and is characterized by

undulating moldings and unaligned windows. This design was driven mainly by aesthetic

considerations: aligned windows would make evident that the building has two more floors,

although it is the same height as the two adjacent nineteenth century buildings. The windows

have protruding frames, such as those of paintings, as the designer intended for them to have a

three-dimensional effect. The winding moldings on the facade also serve to confuse perspective

and diminish contrast with the surrounding buildings.

VIII. What is its style?

The style is known as deconstructivist (“new-baroque” to the designers) architecture

due to its unusual shape. The “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 Mary.

The unusually shaped building is based on a reinforced concrete construction with 99

differently shaped adjoined facade panels. The frontispiece consists of two towers, resembling a

dancing couple. On the top of the Dancing House, there is a dome, called “Medusa” for its shape.

The building has 9 floors and the rooms in it are asymmetrical. The house reaches over the street

line onto the pavement.

IX. How good is it?

The “Dancing House” or sometimes “Fred and Ginger”, is one of the most significant

landmarks in Prague and definitely the most internationally renowned piece of post 1989 Czech

architecture. It is home to almost 3000 square meters of office premises, a restaurant, a gallery,

and a conference centre. Most importantly, there is a sightseeing terrace on top of it, from which

you can overlook the breathtaking panorama of Prague. It is considered one of the most valuable

postmodern buildings in Prague and an important part of the Czech capital’s architecture, but

there were times when it sparked a lot of controversy. There was also a great dispute about the

highly unusual shape of the building, with the impression of the towers leaning.

The Dancing House primarily contains offices, but you don’t need to rent an office

space to go inside. On the uppermost floor of the house, there is a restaurant called “Ginger &

Fred”. The modern-looking, high cuisine restaurant with artistic elements offers French and

international dishes and offers an amazing view of Prague’s panorama. 

X. What are the elements used?

The “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 Mary. The

first is a glass tower that narrows at half its height and is supported by curved pillars; the second

runs parallel to the river and is characterized by undulating moldings and unaligned windows.

This design was driven mainly by aesthetic considerations: aligned windows would make evident

that the building has two more floors, although it is the same height as the two adjacent

nineteenth century buildings. The windows have protruding frames, such as those of paintings, as

the designer intended for them to have a three-dimensional effect. The winding moldings on the

facade also serve to confuse perspective and diminish contrast with the surrounding buildings.

The general shape of the building is now featured on a gold 2,000 Czech koruna coin issued by

the Czech National Bank.