Dancing House Trivia Quiz

Answer:

"Dancing House" (Tancici dum in Czech) or the "Ginger and Fred" building, after the legendary dance duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, sits on the shores of the Vltava River in Prague, Czech Republic.

It was born in 1996, the result of a noteworthy collaboration between Czech-Croatian architect Vlado Milunić and the internationally acclaimed Canadian-American architect Frank O. Gehry. It was financed by the Dutch insurance company Nationale Nederlanden to house their offices. Nowadays it houses offices, a hotel and a restaurant.

At first glance, the structure appears to be in motion: a transparent glass tower leans gracefully into a heavy, solid concrete partner, the two twisting together in a whimsical architectural dance. On top of the building sits a sculptural element, like an enormous crown made of metal bands and wire mesh, called Medusa. The building's fragmented and lopsided form, characteristic of deconstructivism, deliberately challenges the traditional Baroque, Gothic, and Art-Nouveau architectural elements of Prague.

The "Dancing House" expresses an architectural manifestation of the political changes that were transpiring at the time. Shortly after the end of communism in Czechoslovakia, Vlado Milunić conceived this building as a symbol of a society in transition. Frank Gehry's involvement endorsed the project with additional dynamics and emphasized the country's new direction.

The design was initially regarded as controversial and an insult to the city's classical architecture. However, in the long run, it came to represent a brave architectural collaboration in a city marked by old grandeur and history.