Wednesday, July 31, 2019

The Yellow Cube Houses

When I first saw these yellow cubes from afar, I thought that were just the quirky facade of a building. Imagine my surprise when I learned that these are real houses that people actually live in!
These 39 houses are basically slanted cubes in wood, glass and concrete, resting on concrete poles, designed by Dutch architect Piet Blom (1934-1999). Blom's concept was that each house would represent a tree and together, they would symbolize a forest. Keeping this in mind and with some imagination, this little neighbourhood did start to resemble an architectural forest.


Residing in a cube house can be quite a challenge, we were told. Despite having 1,080 square feet of floor space, only a quarter of this, approximately 270 square feet, is usable due to the sharp angles of the architecture. Even more challenging, this 270-square-foot area is spread out across four floors. After entering on the ground level, residents must take a narrow staircase to reach the first floor, a tiny, triangle-shaped room which features a living room and kitchen. A flight of stairs up are two bedrooms and a bathroom, and the top floor is a small free space, typically used as a garden.


As residents are constantly disturbed by hordes of tourists and curious passers-by, one owner decided to open a "show cube", which is furnished as a normal house, and is making a living out of offering tours to visitors.


Thanks to Airbnb, you can now stay in one of these houses.

image source - Airbnb
image source - Airbnb
image source - Airbnb
image source - www.uniqhotels.com
It would be cool to stay in a house like this as a vacation rental but certainly not on a long-term basis. It does feel kinda dizzying and claustrophobic, doesn't it?

 Surprisingly, even after a quarter of a century, a significant number of the original occupants still live in the Cube Houses.



Would you like to live in a Cube House?
Musings Of A Tired Mummy

30 comments:

  1. I could live in a cube house! The stairs might get my knees eventually but it is the perfect size house for me! My hubby wouldn't be able to with all his guitars and musical equipment, but I would love to spend a night in there! I bet that AirNB is constantly booked! I'm going to have to tell my hubby about these and see if he has heard of them. Fascinating!

    betty

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  2. I'm not sure I could handle living in a cube house. Made me a bit nauseous just looking at the pictures.

    Have a fabulous day. ♥

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  3. I'd live there! I think it's amazing cool! I love the slants and the bright yellow!

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  4. Wow! What a concept. Where are these located?
    Ive come home to Blogland to revisit my old blog and see if any of my old bloggie friends are still here. Glad you are.

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  5. Wow! Not only an amazing feat of design...they're very attractive too.

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  6. These look so cool! I love the crazy angles and bright colours, but I don't know if I could cope with living in one of those houses x

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  7. Very unique! I don't know if I could live there though. I like having space!

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  8. People actually live here? Oh wow, that's amazing! I wouldn't love to live there but I wouldn't mind staying in while visiting

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  9. I admit they're interesting, but I simply couldn't live in one of those. I find them disorienting! And to chop up 270 square feet of usable floor space over 4 floors - no way, Jose!
    Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2019/08/mmmmmmm.html

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  10. That does sound pretty difficult to live with but Oh how neat!

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  11. These are fab great idea too :-)

    Have a cubetastic week :-)

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  12. They are beautiful! Thanks for showing them to us. X

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  13. ...what an exciting place, but I feel a bit dizzy!

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  14. Thank you so much for posting these photos. I learn so much from reading your blog. My hubby would LOVE to stay in one of these houses. So cool you can rent one on Air BnB. I am going to bookmark this page!

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  15. Sorry but too much sacrificed to look cool: I am also quite tall so would find these angular rooms with sloping walls a claustrophobic nightmare. Interesting to look at from the outside though. #AnythingGoes

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  16. I don’t know about living in one, but I’d certainly like to meander through one! How incredibly unusual!

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  17. These are definitely cool looking homes and I think would be fun to visit, but couldn't see myself living there. :-) Thank you for sharing all the cool pictures of them. Have a wonderful week!

    Blessings,
    Jill

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  18. Totally cool! You find the neatest stuff girlfriend! Thanks for sharing. Luv ya.... my sista from another mother... woo hoo! Great stuff!

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  19. That is the craziest home I have ever seen! I would love to visit but as you say, living there not so much!

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  20. My, what an unusual concept! They do look a bit claustrophobic for me but the windows make it look open. Thanks for sharing these works of art!

    I enjoyed your post at 'My Corner of the World' this week!


    My Corner of the World

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  21. Unique and interesting ....... Did you stay in there?

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  22. Thanks so much for linking up your cube houses post at the #WednesdayAIMLinkParty 42! Shared.

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  23. Such a cool place. I would love to stay there just for the experience.

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  24. Looks really neat. I can see where they would get bothered a lot, the first thing I wondered was if you were able to get a look inside #thatfridaylinky

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  25. I agree, they look so quirky! ore like architecture than actual houses. Thanks for linking up with #globalblogging

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  26. Very cool but it would drive your bananas after a while wouldn't it? I think nice to visit but I'll stick with an old fashioned regular house.

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  27. Those yellow houses look so cool. I would probably be one of those tourists bothering the people living in those yellow houses. I love that the one owner gives tours! How cool! So fun! Thanks for sharing.

    With Love,
    Mandy

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