1he Cublc Pouses of 8oLLerdam

8oLLerdam ls Lhe secondlargesL clLy ln Lhe neLherlands and one of Lhe largesL porLs ln Lhe
world SLarLlng as a dam on Lhe 8oLLe" rlver 8oLLerdam has grown lnLo a ma[or lnLernaLlonal
commerclal cenLre lLs sLraLeglc locaLlon aL Lhe 8hlneMeuseScheldL delLa on Lhe norLh
Sea and aL Lhe hearL of a masslve rall road alr and lnland waLerway dlsLrlbuLlon sysLem
exLendlng LhroughouL Lurope means LhaL 8oLLerdam ls ofLen called Lhe CaLeway Lo Lurope

8oLLerdam ls famous for lLs archlLecLure 1he mosL sLrlklng for me are Lhe cube houses
(kubuswonlngen) deslgned by archlLecL leL 8lom ln 1984

1he houses look llke a Lree because Lhe archlLecL Lurned Lhe cubes 43 degrees and puL Lhem on
a pole 1he 32 aLLached houses LogeLher look llke a sLone foresL 1he complex ls bullL aL a
pedesLrlan brldge crosslng a Lrafflc road

?ou can have a look ln Lhe socalled show cube 1hls cube house furnlshed as a normal
house ls open for publlc 1hls house conLalns Lhree floors

1he enLrance ls aL Lhe ground floor ln Lhe Lrunk of Lhe Lree Lhe klLchen and llvlng room are aL
Lhe flrsL floor and aL Lhe second floor are Lhe bedrooms and baLhroom

1he deslgn glves a nlce comblnaLlon of Lhe more prlvaLe parLs of Lhe house aL Lhe flrsL and
second floor and Lhe enLrance from an lnLlmaLe publlc space aL Lhe groundfloor 1he smallscale
shops and workshops aL Lhe groundlevel glve Lhe area a nlce llvellness

Cpenlng hours of Lhe showcube are from 1100 am Llll 300 pm every day ln [anuary and
february you can vlslL Lhe showcube only durlng Lhe weekend

1hese houses are preLLy sLrange 1heyre seL on a blg pole and look llke a LllLed cube 1here are
qulLe a few of Lhem and as lL looks llke a foresL lLs called PeL 8laakse bos (Lhe foresL of Lhe
8laak)

1heres a museum ln one of Lhese houses where you can learn abouL how Lhey look on Lhe
lnslde and abouL Lhe hlsLory 1he museum ls open every day from 1100 Lo 1700 excepL for
!anuary and lebruarl when lLs opened on frlday saLurday and sunday LnLrance cosL 200
Lu8C