The Golden Angel ''(

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

: Zlatý Anděl)'' is an administrative complex situated in Prague. The designer was French architect

Jean Nouvel Jean Nouvel (; born 12 August 1945) is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of ''Mars 1976'' and ''Syndicat de l'Architecture'', France’s first labor union for architects. He has ob ...

. The structure is located in the immediate vicinity of The Angel Crossroad (Křižovatka Anděl) which was named after The Golden Angel's Pharmacy (Lékárna U Zlatého Anděla). The pharmacy as well as its symbol - a gilded statue of an angel - was demolished in 1980 to make a room for new subway station.

Origin

Nouvel started The Golden Angel project in 1994. The construction was launched five years later and the complex was completed in November 2000. The exclusive investor of the building is the ING Real Estate company.

Exterior

The Golden Angel is curve-shaped and edges are rounded. The technology of the layered facade allows it to vary the building's appearance during the daytime. The glassed facades bear passages from the writings of notable authors who had been creating in Prague:

Jiří Orten Jiří Orten (born Jiří Ohrenstein; 30 August 1919 in Kutná Hora – 1 September 1941 in Prague) was a Czech poet. His work was influenced by surrealism and folklore. Life Orten was born in Kutná Hora as Jiří Ohrenstein. His first book ...

, Konstantin Biebl,

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire (; ; born Kostrowicki; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist and art critic of Poland, Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the ...

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet and novelist. Acclaimed as an Idiosyncrasy, idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as ...

and

Gustav Meyrink Gustav Meyrink (19 January 1868 – 4 December 1932) was the pseudonym of Gustav Meyer, an Austrian author, novelist, dramatist, translator, and banker, most famous for his novel ''The Golem (Meyrink novel), The Golem''. He has been described as ...

. A picture of an angel-protector, inspired by a Wim Wenders' film ''

Wings of Desire ''Wings of Desire'' (, ; ) is a 1987 romantic fantasy film written by Wim Wenders, Peter Handke and Richard Reitinger, and directed by Wenders. The film is about invisible, immortal angels who populate Berlin and listen to the thoughts of its hu ...

'', looks down upon the golden Angel crossroads, floating among clouds. A unique technology was developed for portraying clouds and the Angel. The graphics are printed on an advert foil and cut into millimetre-sized dots, which are stuck onto the facade in a density of 80,000/m2. The number of dots on the complex is reaching 150 millions; the printing and cutting process ran uninterrupted for over 7 months.

References

Buildings and structures in Prague Office buildings completed in 2000 Postmodern architecture in the Czech Republic Tourist attractions in Prague Smíchov 2000 establishments in the Czech Republic 21st-century architecture in the Czech Republic {{CzechRepublic-struct-stub