The Dancing House is the nickname given to an office building in downtown Prague, Czech Republic. It was designed by Croatian-born Czech architect Vlado Milunic in co-operation with Canadian architect Frank Gehry on a vacant riverfront plot (where the previous building had been destroyed during the Bombing of Prague in 1945). The construction started in 1994 and was finished in 1996.
The very non-traditional design was controversial at the time. Czech president Vaclav Havel, who lived for decades next to the site, had supported it, hoping that the building would become a center of cultural activity. Originally named Fred and Ginger (after Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers - the house vaguely resembles a pair of dancers) the house stands out among the Neo-Baroque, Neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau buildings for which Prague is famous.
The Piano House (China)
This unique piano house was built recently in An Hui Province, China. Inside of the violin is the escalator to the building. The building displays various city plans and development prospects in an effort to draw interest into the recently developed area.
National Grand Theater, Beijing, China
A somewhat controversally modern structure just west of Beijing's Tiananmen Square, the National Grand Theater, or The Egg, is one of the most amazing theaters in the world. It is surrounded by an artificial lake, and was built with titanium accented glass. The controversy with this building comes in its moderistic architecture. Because of the great respect for ancient Chinese architecture throughout the country, many critics voiced their opinion that The Egg took away from that feel in Beijing. Although, the elegance of this modern marvel cannot be denied.
Ryugyong Hotel (Pyongyang, North Korea)
The Ryugyong Hotel is a topped-out 105-floor skyscraper under construction in Pyongyang, North Korea. Its name comes from one of the historic names for the city of Pyongyang, and means "capital of willows"; the building is also known as the 105 building, a reference to its number of floors.
Construction began in 1987 and was to be completed in 1989, but was halted in 1992 due to the economic disruptions that the country was affected by following the fall of the Soviet Union. The hotel stood topped out but without windows or interior fittings for the next sixteen years. Construction resumed in April 2008, under the supervision of the Orascom Group of Egypt, which has invested heavily in the North Korean mobile telephony and construction industries.
The hotel rises to a height of 330 metres (1,080 ft), making it the most prominent feature of Pyongyang's skyline and by far the largest structure in North Korea. The Ryugyong remains the only hotel in the world with more than 100 stories, and is currently the world's 35th tallest building - alongside the China World Trade Center Tower III - in terms of total height and has the 4th highest number of floors.
Bahá’í House of Worship a.k.a Lotus Temple (Delhi, India)
The Bahá'í House of Worship in Delhi, India, popularly known as the Lotus Temple due to its flowerlike shape, is a Bahá'í House of Worship and also a prominent attraction in Delhi. It was completed in 1986 and serves as the Mother Temple of the Indian subcontinent. It has won numerous architectural awards and been featured in hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles.
