As early as 1986 (during the Communist era), Vlado Milunić, then a respected architect in the Czechoslovak milieu, conceived an idea for a project at the place and discussed it with his neighbour, the then little-known dissident Havel.

A few years later, during the Velvet Revolution, Havel became a popular leader and was subsequently elected president of Czechoslovakia.

[citation needed] Havel eventually decided to have Milunić survey the site, hoping for it to become a cultural center, though this was not the result.

The Dutch insurance company Nationale-Nederlanden (ING Bank from 1991 to 2016) agreed to sponsor the construction of a house onsite.

The superbank chose Milunić as the lead designer and asked him to partner with another world-renowned architect to approach the process.

In the middle of a square of buildings from the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the Dancing House has two main parts.

The first is a glass tower that narrows at half its height and is supported by curved pillars; the second runs parallel to the river and is characterized by undulating mouldings and unaligned windows.

The winding mouldings on the façade also serve to confuse perspective and diminish contrast with the surrounding buildings.

To make the most of the space, architect Jiřičná used design elements common in ships and incorporated small hallways into the interior of the building.

The deconstructivist design is controversial because the house disrupts the Baroque, Gothic, and Art Nouveau buildings for which Prague is famous.