Rotterdam’s Cube Houses have always been the city’s most prominent attraction. The 38 regular Cube houses and two ‘Super Cubes’ have been conceptualized by Piet Blom, a Dutch architect. The residential units are cubes in the truest sense… they tilt over and as you pass by the road below, you might be tempted to watch out for your head. Rotterdam’s Cube Houses include a hostel and the Show Cube Museum explaining all sorts of interesting details about these architectural constructs.
Why are Cube Houses so famous?
A curiously constructed array of yellow cubic houses mounted on hexagonal pillars would have attracted attention in any setting, but achieving a mark of distinction claims special merit.
Rotterdam is a city that was known for its creativity and architectural brilliance and it sprung to international fame after the construction of the Cubic Houses. The complex with tree-shaped cubic houses quickly became famous by its name Blaak Forest and has been a global icon since 1984.
An often overlooked fact is that the Cube Houses were built as a response to a space utilization issue. Chunks of land on the southeast and northwest sides of Blaak Street were categorised as residential but there were no links connecting them. The City Council finally decided to call in Piet Blom, a structuralism architect to construct a housing complex acting as a bridge over the road. The rest is history.
Location of Cube Houses
The location is one of the most awesome things about the houses as they lie in the eastern part of the city centre with the weekly market, Blaak Station and the Market Hall in close vicinity.
Disembark at Rotterdam Blaak and before you walk 600 meters to the Cube Houses, visit train platform 1 which hosts a piece of Rotterdam’s historical defence walls that is nearly 700 years old. This was uncovered in the 1989 excavation and makes for a nice contrast to the modernistic attraction you are about to visit.
Special Features of Rotterdam Cube Houses
The Cube houses of Rotterdam are a series of inventive houses that symbolize the concept of “living as an urban roof”. They are all coloured yellow with white, slate, and beige accents. When you stand on the street and get an aerial view of the tilted Cube houses, it makes for a startling sight and great Instagram photos.
The Cube Houses were constructed asymmetrically to represent an abstract forest with several triangular roofs that look like treetops. This is an extremely community-centric project that stands right beside Rotterdam Blaak Railway station with numerous cafes and restaurants on its door. Some of the houses serve the role of a pedestrian bridge, a completely traffic-free zone that joins the cubes. The space encompasses a small children’s playground along with studios and modern offices.
This high-density housing complex has lots of space on the ground level because the core idea was to increase the space inside. The traditional house design was tilted upwards by a corner and then set upon a pylon shaped like a hexagon. Every house stands like a tree, and the Cubic Houses together make up the forest. The core principle is space optimization and enhanced distribution of the rooms inside a home.
All the walls of the houses are slanted (angled at exactly 54.7 degrees) and may exert a disconcerting effect on first-time visitors. Every cube has an inclination of 45 degree and joins the adjacent cube perfectly constructing a conceptual forest. All the pillars supporting the cubes are hexagonal and they stand in an asymmetrical design. There are two principal parts of the House -Pole and Cube.
The Pole looks like a hexagon and it has three concrete pillars with concrete stone walling in the middle. The Pole has two levels with storage space for bicycles kept at the promenade that can be accessed through a door. The adjacent staircase leads to a second-floor entrance. Some of the Rotterdam Cube Houses have staircases inbuilt inside the Pole.
Usually, the storage areas of the Cubic Houses are located in a different place in the complex because the area under the Pole is a commercial space.
The Crown or the Cube has a tilted appearance that looks like it’s perched on the pole. Three sides face the ground and the other three sides look up at the sky. The refurbished concrete pillars and floors were built where it stands. The Cube is built on a wooden skeleton that stands on the edge of the floors. Fibreboard or cement panels cover both the exterior and the interior of the panels and there is rock wool insulation in the middle.
All cube windows have double glass panels and wire glass for fire protection. The cubes are highly insulated and you cannot hear traffic noise when all the windows are shut. The house can be heated up very efficiently too.
The houses are about three floors tall with the ground floor serving as the entrance and the living area with a triangle-shaped surface. One of the corners has a dining table and the kitchen while another corner has the bathroom.
The third corner has storage cupboards, computers, and a TV. This was named the Street House as windows look downwards with an intense connection with whatever is happening in the street below.
The second floor has two bedrooms and a bathroom. Some of the Cube Houses have their top floors acting as pretty rooftop gardens.
The whole apartment area is around 100 square meters. However, one-quarter of the available space is generally not used as there are walls under the angled ceilings. Some walls under the angled ceilings are just one and a half meters in height and there are plenty of unused corners.
The furniture has been built in a customized way for adaptation to complex spaces and the furnishings are also curated to fit this unusual design. The sloping walls, startling geometrical formations, and the windows with huge inclinations offer a fresh perspective to onlookers.
Brief History
History says that Piet Blom, the creator of these Cube Houses had earlier experimented with architecture in the cubic form in Helmond (another Dutch City). Blom was famous for the Structuralism creations that he had executed in Amsterdam, Amersfoort, and Heemskerk. Piet Blom arose from humble beginnings (his parents ran a vegetable stall) to establish himself as a famous Structuralist and a member of the PROVOST movement. He also won the illustrious Prix de Rome for designing a children’s village. The Rotterdam City Council invited him to execute the Cube House project in the Oude Haven area.
The 1977 plans reveal the intent for 55 houses but only 38 of these were built besides two super cubes that are conjoined.
Structuralism (especially prominent in the Netherlands) emerged in the 1960s as a reaction to the Dutch functional architectural movement whose core principles revolved around segregation and functionality as well as optimal planning. In contrast, the structuralisms advocated coherency and human sizing along with integration that optimized space utilization.
Structuralism buildings had spaces of small scales interconnected to one another with open structures that juxtaposed large inner courts welcoming social interaction. Therefore the Cube Houses of Rotterdam are holistically harmonious with the environment. Many structuralism blocks were built in the 1970s and Netherlands’ housing landscape was heavily influenced by this concept.
Most of the Cube Houses are privately owned except the Show Cube Museum and the StayOkay Hostel. So if you want a private tour or a living experience of the Cube Houses… these are the places you can target.
Show Cube Museum
As expected, this interesting architectural concept began to attract a lot of tourists (both domestic and international) who kept on invading the privacy of the Cube House residents. However, one smart resident of the Cube House had the brilliant idea of opening the Show Cube Museum or the Kijk-Kubus. This offered visitors the scope of touring a completely furnished Cube House for an admission price of 3 euros.
This fully furnished cube house with curated furniture built to fit the slanting wall and unusual ambiance also has information panels and maquettes that display a lot of data about the Cubic Houses, their architecture, and the nearby attractions.
Entry Fee: The standard fee is 3 Euros per person while for seniors and students it is 2 Euros. Children up to the age of 12 can gain entry for 1.50 Euros per person. People bearing the Rotterdam Welcome Card get a one Euro discount while those who have the Rotterdam Pass can visit the Kjik Kubus Museum house for free.
Timing: Open every day from 11.00 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Address: Kijk-Kubus Museum-house / “Het Blaakse Bos” Foundation
Overblaak 70, 3011MH Rotterdam, Phone: +31 (0)10 4142285
If the detailed tour of the Cube House Museum triggers more curiosity about Piet Blom’s other work then you could take a look at the New Institute (erstwhile known as the Netherlands Architectural Institute) that displays his documentation, sketches, and pictures of work accomplished
Inside Rotterdam Cube Houses
While the first fifteen minutes inside a Cube House may make you wonder about their viability and liveability, there is a strong chance of becoming bewitched by these yellow cubes. The moment you start acclimatizing to the slanted and odd shapes, the creativity of the concept strikes you.
The furniture is mostly customized to fit into corners and oddly angled spaces. The stairs are pretty steep making them better suited for young homeowners than seniors. However, if being fit is a priority then living in a cube house should help!!
The courtyard area (ground level, public space) is absolutely free to walk in (even for tourists) and there are a number of interesting shops here.
Schaakstukkenmuseum (The Museum of Chess Pieces)
Do not forget to visit the Schaakstukkenmuseum (The Museum of Chess Pieces) when you tour the Cube Houses. Hosting almost 30,000 chess pieces, some of them startlingly unique, this museum will fascinate even those who do not play the game. The pieces are made of glass, wood, metal, and other substances.
The Museum of Chess Pieces opened its doors in 2006 and the founder Ridder Dijkshoorn contributed much of the collection. There are plenty of rotating collections and temporary exhibits that make sure that something new is on display every month. There are approximately 928 unique chess sets in the museum including neo-modern sets as well antique ones. There are sets that are hand painted and intricately carved while some are designed as a tribute to pop culture.
Kids will also enjoy this place a lot… there are several cartoon-themed sets and different colourful themes. For example, there are sets representing Vikings and Christian Knights, Dakota Indians, and soldiers from Abraham Lincoln’s army. There is even a football match-themed chess set featuring popular clubs. For chess aficionados, there is a decent range of literature available in the in-house library.
The Chess Pieces Museum holds the most extensive collection of chess pieces worldwide and shouldn’t be missed. You can even submit your own entries for a chess set designed from your own imagination. The museum accepts entries and the best ones are showcased on March Museum Night.
Entry Fee: The standard fee is 2 Euro per adult while for children under thirteen years, it is 1 Euro
Timings: Open every day from 11.00 a.m. to 5 p.m. From March to October
Open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day
Address: 103 Overblaak, Rotterdam, 3011 MH
Stayokay Hostel
The Rotterdam-based Personal Architecture BNA transformed one of the bigger cubes into an important hostel chain called the Stayokay Hostel. This is a chance for everyone to stay inside the Cube House and pretend to be a resident besides enjoying the gorgeous views around. There are some side effects too as some visitors may feel uneasy because of the slanting walls.
Contact Details:
Overblaak 85 – 87, 3011 MH Rotterdam
Phone: +31 (0)10 43 65 763
Art Cube
In 2019, a gallery called the Art Cube opened at one of the Cube Houses (Overblaak 30). This represents an area where architecture and art are juxtaposed together. While the original layout was preserved, this particular cube house was used as a gallery showcasing the work of many local artists.
Supercube
The Supercube (guided by the Exodus Foundation) is now a twenty-room communal living space for about 20 delinquents in the latter stages of their detention. This is a four-storied larger cube whose two middle floors have been revamped naturally with a beautiful atrium. For obvious reasons, the Supercube can only be viewed from the outside and is not open to visitors.
Cube House Tours
The Cube Houses are so much better explored on foot at your own leisure and the interiors of the Cube Museum will say their own stories. This is a great place to just stroll around, take photographs, and possibly (unobtrusively) watch the locals going about their lives in this curiously communal living space.
A good way to admire the architectural offerings of the city as well as have an inside look at the Cube Houses is to opt for a walking tour.
Viator offers private as well as group architectural walking tours of Rotterdam that includes a tour of the Cube Houses.
In the private tour, the guide will meet you at your hotel (if centrally placed) and then take you around the city’s architectural icons like the Oude Haven (Old Harbour), Rotterdam Central Station, SS Rotterdam, Markthal (Rotterdam Market Hall) and the Cube Houses. The guide will be around to give you an explanation of the history and special features of all these beautiful places.
Duration: This is a two-hour tour with a minimum requirement of two people per booking.
Go through this Viator webpage for tour details, rate, and online booking.
If you want a more extensive tour of Rotterdam then opt for the half-day private walking tour. The offering includes a more detailed look at the city including Euromast, Old Harbor, Meent Shopping District, and Luchtsingel Bridge besides Cube Houses. This customized experience includes snacks, lunch, and all admission tickets.
Go through this Viator webpage for tour details, rate, and online booking.
There are several other walking tours offered by Viator that include great architectural structures and buildings of Rotterdam including the Cube Houses. You can browse through all of that and book using the following link: Viator Rotterdam Walking Tours.
A travel addict. Still celebrating the day when he quit his high-profile corporate job to pursue his passion for travel writing.