<Dancing House is one of the few bold modern buildings in Prague.</Dancing House>

Prague – A daring building that is a symbol of Prague. The Dancing House on Rašínovo nábřeží, which is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary this year, was designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry and Czech architect of Croatian descent Vlado Milunić. According to him, it symbolizes, among other things, the dance over the end of totality. The unofficial name was given to the building by two towers resembling the figures of dancers. That is why it is sometimes called Ginger and Fred after the famous duo Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Part of the interiors was designed by the renowned architect Eva Jiřičná. The operation of the building was officially opened on June 20, 1996.

On the site of the Dancing House once stood a residential building that was accidentally destroyed in February 1945 by an American bomb during the aerial bombardment of Prague. In 1963, a decision was made to fill the gap with construction, but nothing happened for a long time. Then architect Milunić entered the scene, who was designing the division of the apartment for Václav Havel, living in the neighboring building, in the 1980s: "At that time, we talked about what kind of building could stand next to it. It was to be a house full of culture. I wanted the building to lean over the intersection because it was meant to personify the state of Czechoslovak society, which had started to move from totalitarian stagnation. That is why I wanted a static tower at the back and a dynamic part of the building in the foreground that leaned over the intersection. Similar to society, where a smaller part separated from the majority, statically totalitarian stagnation, and embarked on a journey of change. That is the main idea behind the dialogue of the two parts," Milunić recalled in the press. He attributes the opportunity to implement such a modern building in Prague to the post-revolutionary euphoria, then-President Václav Havel, then-director of the heritage protection office Věra Millerová, and a rare coincidence of circumstances.

His project appealed to his friend Pavel Koch, who happened to represent the Dutch company Nationale Nederlanden in Prague. The original idea counted on the creation of a building with a library, theater, and café that would connect the cultural line from the Rudolfinum through the National Theatre to Mánes. However, it was not possible to find an investor for this non-commercial project. Nationale Nederlanden set the conditions for commercial use and participation of a world-renowned architect. Milunić initially considered the Frenchman Jean Nouvel (later, according to his project, the Golden Angel arose in Smíchov), but was successful only with Gehry. A hockey fan, Gehry reportedly said, according to Milunić, that he would do anything for a country that gave America Jaromír Jágr. The renowned creator, known for building the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, allegedly tested the possibilities of 3D computer modeling in the Prague project, which he also used in the later-completed Bilbao.

The cornerstone of the Nationale Nederlanden Building, as the building was officially named, was laid on September 3, 1994. The building is based on a reinforced concrete slab supported by a system of drilled piles. Attached to the structure are 99 original facade panels. At the top of one of the towers, symbolizing the figure of a man, is a dome made of pipes covered with stainless steel mesh - the head of a medusa.

The building has nine floors divided vertically into two sections. Due to the shape of the building, each floor is different. This also leads to a certain impracticality - asymmetrical rooms are difficult to furnish, and slanted walls can feel overwhelming. The building also protrudes from the street line, which obstructs pedestrians. The usable area of the building is 2,965 square meters of office space on six floors, a restaurant of 679 square meters on the top floor, and a conference center (400 square meters) on the ground floor and basement.

The Dancing House project was not initially received unambiguously. Its supporters appreciated the bold modern architecture that Prague lacked, while opponents argued that it did not fit into historic Prague and would disrupt the skyline. However, in its quarter-century existence, it has collected numerous awards and has become one of the most photographed buildings in Prague. In 1997, it won in the design category in the prestigious American magazine Time. In an architect magazine poll, it ranked among the five most significant Czech buildings of the 1990s. The Czech National Bank selected it as an example of contemporary architecture for one of the ten coins it issued as part of the cycle "Ten Centuries of Architecture."

Photographs of the building, which in 2013 was bought for 360 million crowns by the Prague Property Management company of real estate entrepreneur Václav Skala, now appear in tourist guides and publications about architecture. The building now serves as a gallery, has an administrative center, a restaurant, and a popular tourist observation point on the rooftop terrace with a Glass Bar and a unique view of the Castle and the panorama of Prague.

"Ginger and Fred" is now one of the symbols of the metropolis and a tourist magnet: "I really regret that the constructed building is now full of inaccessible offices with an expensive restaurant on the top floor instead of being a house of culture accessible to all," Vlado Milunič states in the book Dancing House published by Zlatý řez in 2003.