Rotterdam Cube Houses: The butterfly

Architecture in Rotterdam is known to be some of the most innovative and creative architecture in Holland. And even after more than 30 years, the cube houses (Kubuswoningen in Dutch) remain one of the city's most remarkable projects. It's easy to see why: these particular houses are 45° side-tilted cubes, optimized to make the most of the available space. The result is buildings that look, feel and behave like no other dwelling anywhere in the world.

Dutch architect Piet Blom designed Rotterdam's cube houses in the late 1970s at the request of the city's planners. Blom had already experimented with cubic architecture in the Dutch town of Helmond. So when he was offered this project in the Oude Haven area of the city center, he decided to further develop his original ideas. Interestingly, the cubic houses even form a pedestrian bridge over one of the busiest streets in the city center.