One striking house

When I was about your age, we often visited my grandmother and then drove back to Prague on the highway. I sat in the back of the car, looking out the window and feeling a little bored because the trip was long. I could tell for sure that we’d be home soon thanks to one house that appeared next to the road as we entered the city: it was huge and incredibly fun. Shiny and blue on top, white on the bottom with colorful wavy lines. And it even had little turrets in the corners, like a castle.

I always wondered what was inside. I thought it might be a swimming pool—probably because it had no windows and those lines reminded me of waves. Or an amusement park, again because of the turrets and cheerful colors.

Today I know that it’s neither of those things. And that the real contents would probably never have occurred to me on my own.

A huge colorful jigsaw puzzle

That building was brand-new back then, but it still stands there today, and you might even recognize it, even though it’s now somewhat hidden among the surrounding buildings.

It’s not a swimming pool. It’s a repository—a place where archival materials are stored and protected. Inside, it’s quiet, with row upon row of shelves full of documents. These include old letters, maps, or official papers that tell the story of what once happened. A silent maze. Actually, the exact opposite of what you’d expect based on that playful facade.

Here’s how it came to be: The building was constructed as a massive concrete box, a container for those vitally important documents. And because the facade was flat and empty as a result, a competition was held among architects to design its appearance.

Architect Iva Knappová won the competition. She proposed covering the large empty walls of the repository with thousands of colorful ceramic tiles that together form a picture. It was meant to evoke a landscape, hills, and the sky above them. Each tile had its exact place; it was labeled on the back during production and, during construction, was placed on the facade like a jigsaw puzzle according to the blueprint.

But that facade isn’t just for show—there’s a gap between it and the wall that allows air to circulate, helping to maintain a stable climate inside. This is crucial because old documents are sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity, which can damage them.

The 1990s: When experimentation was finally possible

This building was constructed in the 1990s. And that is important.

It was a time when architecture in our country was undergoing significant change. After 1989, the borders opened, and with them came new possibilities. Architects could travel, draw inspiration abroad, and then try out previously unseen ideas here at home.

Before that, construction here tended to be rather unassuming, and houses looked very much alike. Suddenly, however, there was no longer a single “correct,” prescribed solution for building, so architects began to play around more. Some designed very serene, simple houses, thought out down to the last detail. Others, on the contrary, experimented—with colors, materials, or bizarre shapes.

Many historic houses, even in the city center, got a fresh coat of paint—in colors like pistachio or strawberry ice cream. One new hotel was so enormous and over-decorated that it came to be nicknamed the “whipped cream cake”. It was also during this time that perhaps the most famous building in the country was created—the Dancing House—which is actually shaped like a dancing couple and was nicknamed Ginger and Fred.

This playfulness permeated every sphere of architecture, even in such a “serious” place as Prague Castle: above the new entrance to the presidential offices, architect Bořek Šípek had a gilded statue of a leopardess with butterfly wings installed. It may seem like a small detail, but it shows that architects could suddenly afford to be bold, playful, and sometimes even a little, well… strange.

The ’90s were simply a time when architecture was exploring just how far it could go.

Come take a closer look and sit down to it just like at the Castle

When your parents were kids, Prague looked different. If you’re curious about exactly what was going on back then, come check out the DEVADE exhibition at CAMP.

You’ll find more information there about what was being built back then, but that’s not all. Period videos are projected onto the wall, which can be quite amusing to watch. Take a look, for example, at what people are wearing in the videos and how it differs from today. You might also be surprised by the cars, shops, or advertisements—everything looked a little different than it does today.

You can sit back and enjoy it in true luxury. The hall is furnished with red-and-white ceremonial chairs designed for Prague Castle by the very architect who placed the aforementioned leopard statue there. Give it a try—how do they feel to sit in? And can you figure out what the chair is called? (Here’s a hint: it has a female name.)