Europe

[Visited: September 2001]

For centuries, houses worldwide have basically been built more or less in the same way. In Rotterdam, which had to be rebuilt after its destruction in the Second World War, a lot of innovative buildings were built during the last decades. One of the most unconventional are the cube houses near the city centre. These houses were designed by architect Blom in the 1980s. He just tilted the conventional house 45 degrees.
The houses all rest on pilons, have windows, and are all attached one to the other. And perhaps the most amazing thing: people actually live in them! Since they were disturbed so often by curious passers-by, one owner decided to open a "show cube", which is furnished as a normal house. Once inside, you get an idea how it is possible that one can live in such a strangely shaped house.
He actually makes a living out of being in charge of this show cube, and has acquired another cube to live without being disturbed. He can tell visitors how it is to live in a cube. If you are interested, it is possible to buy one of these houses and cubes are regularly for sale. I must say, however, that I was a little disappointed in the way the space in the house was used - I would have imagined that the fact that walls are not straight would be used to create more space. Perhaps the outside view is the most attractive of these cube houses.

Around the World in 80 Clicks

Personal travel impressions both in words and images from Cube Houses (Netherlands). Clicking on the pictures enlarges them and enables you to send the picture as a free e-card or download it for personal use, for instance, on your weblog. Or click on the map above to visit more places close to Cube Houses.
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