The Curious Cube Houses of Rotterdam || An Alokchitri's PhotoBlog

The first cube houses were built in Helmond in the 1970s. Almost ten years later the cube houses Rotterdam followed. The homes at both locations were designed by architect Piet Blom.

The Rotterdam complex consists of 38 cube houses above the Blaak and is known as the Blaakse Bos. In addition to the cube houses, there are also some larger cubes, a residential tower (Het Potlood) and a residential apartment. The name of the complex refers to the vision of the architect, in which each house represents a tree and the total complex a forest. The idea was a kind of village in the big city, a safe environment in which all sorts of functions were accommodated. Shops, businesses, a school and playground for the children in the pedestrian walking area and live above it. Thanks to the slanted windows, the interaction between living and public life would be great.

From an urban point of view, the Overblaak (so called the passage where the cube dwellings are on) was intended as a pedestrian connection between the Center and the Old Port. The route turned out to be quite cumbersome in practice, so pedestrians still crossed the busy Blaak. The intended liveliness in the cube houses did not work out. Only when the two large cubes on the south side were transformed into a Stayokay hostel in 2009 did the liveliness come.

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