Trees in a forest - The Cube Houses.

Exploring Rotterdam for the first time was wild! Over the years, I guess I kept going to cities/ towns in the Netherlands that all had similar looks, so when I got to Rotterdam, I felt like I had stepped into the future. Many buildings were not just super modern but also had artistic, playful, and innovative designs, as if the architects were allowed to break out of the mold and create whatever they wanted! This is, in fact, what happened. In World War II, German bombers destroyed the city center, and instead of rebuilding the city as it was, architects used the blank canvas and began experimenting. They created a new cityscape of innovative design of which the locals are proud. “The interesting thing in Rotterdam is that its reconstruction really took place without any sentimentality toward was what was gone, and the emptiness that is left in the wake of the bombing was used to really make a new beginning.” (Brown et al.)

One of these architectural designs that made me chuckle as soon as I saw it in the distance was the Cube House Development. Designed by architect Piet Blom, this residential development is one of the city's main attractions. The homes are each tilted 45 degrees to optimize the available living space. His design "represents a village within a city, where each house represents a tree, and all the houses together, a forest." I am guessing the residents love their cube homes and are used to living with sloping walls. Do you think you will be able to live in one of these homes?