Monday, October 27, 2014

The Dancing House

Postmodernism, in general, is a strange yet interesting topic. One of the sects that interest me the most is postmodern architecture. 

The Dancing House, a unique piece of postmodern architecture, is a nickname donned by the Nationale-Nederlanden building in PragueCzech Republic. The building was designed by Frank Gehry and Vlado Milunić and finished construction in 1996. It's one of the most fascinating buildings I've seen, while its non-traditional look isn't so appealing to all. It was very controversial when it first was built, since it didn't fit in with the surrounding city. 

The contentious response that the building got is part of what makes it so postmodern. Factors of postmodern architecture include controversy, diverse styles and aesthetics, and being arguably avant-garde. This building uses lots of different techniques and materials, and blends new ideas with a traditional format. It falls under the term deconstructivism, which is a development of postmodern architecture the originated in the late 1980s.

The famous edifice is also called Fred and Ginger, modeled after the icon dance duo. Never have I heard of a building taking after a person! Milunić spoke of The Dancing House, saying it's "Charged with internal energy, the building is bursting at its seams,"

I think these are all things contributing to this building's postmodernism, a design style which is becoming more widely accepted.

2 comments:

  1. I saw this building when I googled postmodernism for my post a while ago and I'm glad that I know its background now. I can see why this building has stirred up controversy but I also think its full of energy and life. Cool to see famous postmodernism around the world.

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  2. I really like how you gave background on the building. You also did a great job analyzing how the building is postmodern. This building is super cool I and I really like that you did your blog post on it.

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