Main author
Michael BrooksCube Houses
See the Unusual building design of the week series here.
The Cube (or Cubic) Houses are a series of unusual house design located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. They were conceived and constructed in the 1970s by architect Piet Blom as a response to the request from town planners for housing to be built on top of a pedestrian bridge. Blom had already built similar houses in the town of Helmand and so chose to repeat the design in Rotterdam.
Blom intended that the triangular peak of each of house would represent the top of a tree, with the asymmetrical design of the 40 cubic houses connected together representing an abstract forest.
The cubes comprise concrete floors and pillars and wooden framing, and sit tilted on a hexagonal base. The interior of the houses are divided into three levels accessed by a narrow staircase.
The walls and windows are angled at 54.7 degrees which provides good views of the surrounding area. However, the houses have been criticised for their lack of available space as, despite a total area of 100 sq. m, the angled structure means that only 25 sq. m is actually usable.
[edit] Find out more
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Building of the week series.
- Cabin Straumsnes, Norway
- Calakmul Corporate Building, Mexico.
- Dunmore Pineapple.
- Fallingwater.
- Futuro House.
- Gentle Genius.
- Habitat 67.
- House in the Orchard.
- Loyly, Finland.
- Ministry of Transportation Building, Georgia.
- Nakagin Capsule Tower.
- Unusual building design of the week.
- Upside Down House, Poland.
- Waldspirale.
- Wikkelhouse.
- Y House.
Featured articles and news
We're expanding our collaborative mission by launching DB Intelligence, an exclusive market research advisory panel. Built environment professionals can now get paid to share their expertise on industry trends, products and services.
Panel members receive direct financial incentives for participating in research projects like short surveys, 1-2-1 interviews and focus groups. Register today to shape the future of the construction sector.
Building Safety Wiki Interviews
Chief executive of the British Woodworking Federation.
Planning condition discharge in England and Wales
A brief exoplanation from a building compliance expert, with further links.
Overheating guidance and tools for building designers
Guidance for dealing with element of building fabric control that have increasing importance.
Shading for housing, a design guide
From the Good Homes Alliance and British Blind and Shutter Association.
UK Standard Skills Classification (SSC)
A shared framework for describing skills needs.
Social media ban consultation comes to close
CIOB urges UK Government to consider social media’s role in careers guidance in ban debate.
The latest of eight Skills England apprenticeship units
The addition of battery manufacturing welcomed by ECA with a warning about the risks of fast-tracked apprenticeship units.
Building Control Independent Panel final report
A precis of a key report led by Dame Hackitt with full recommendations and link to the government response.
Building Safety recap April, 2026
A short and longer run-through of the month, with links to further information and sources.
CIAT May 2026 briefing.
From medieval scribes to modern word art.
ECA welcomes crackdown on late payment and push for clean energy, whilst CIOB seek fixed cladding removal timeframes.
Cyber Security in the Built Environment
Protecting projects, data, and digital assets: A CIOB Academy TIS.
Managing competence in the built environment
ITFG publishes new industry guide on how to meet the ICC principles.