Frank Gehry Dancing Building

The dancing building, or National- Neaderladen building was one of the first designs that Frank Gehry employed 3D computer modelling techniques, and is noted as the first building which had ever used Catia. Having used Catia and other engineering programs in order to calculate equations for every point, Gehry also had to use 3D modellers to obtain the complex geometries from his massing models. "The angled tower's vertical steel T-Members are curved in two directions and twisted and no two glass panels are the same."
The two towers are distorted cylinders. The solid static tower known as Fred is made of concrete and displays a larger diameter at the top. The fluid glass town know as Ginger is a glass and steel curtain wall tower is taller and wider at the, squeezed in the dramatically in the middle and supported by pitched legs to make it appear as if the tower is leaning on Fred. The legs create an open public space on ground level.
Stucco was used on the facade to help blend in with the traditional buildings that surround it, which includes wavy lines that stream horizontally toward the towers. Stucco also provides a soft texture which is common in old Prague and reads as one continuous element.
But behind all the curved facades there is a simple plan based on L shaped circulation which allowed for the maximum number of people to share the view of the river, which is then broken up in continuity by the windows which move up and down with the curves to keep with the feeling of fluidity and the notion of 'matter into motion'.
Text And Images.
Fialova, Irena. Frank Gehry Vlado Milunic Dancing Building. Zlaty Rez, Prague 2003.