Kubuswoningen

Architecture that turns your head sideways

The Kubuswoningen on the Overblaak in Rotterdam are among the most photographed buildings in the Netherlands, and with good reason. Piet Blom designed them in the 1980s as a kind of forest of tilted blocks, each rotated 45 degrees on a concrete pillar. What you get is a sequence of angles, planes and lines that your camera sensor can barely contain.

What makes this place special is that the geometry never gets old. You can come back ten times and make a different image each visit, depending on where you stand, which focal length you choose and what the light is doing.

Light and timing

Early morning is the quietest, and you get soft side light that warms the yellow facades. Later in the day, back light works well, especially when you photograph the cubes from below and cut them out against the sky. Overcast weather evens out the contrasts and lets you focus on the shapes themselves. The blue hour is strong too: the yellow of the houses stands out sharply against the deep blue of the sky.

Composition and focal length

A wide angle, say 16 to 24mm, lets you stand close to the pillars and have the cubes fan out dramatically above you. But a telephoto of 70 to 135mm compresses the forms and gives you more abstract planes. Look upward through the gaps as well: the views between the pillars and along the undersides of the cubes produce compositions that feel completely detached from the street. It is also worth walking to the footbridge towards the Blaaktoren for a perspective at eye level with the cubes alongside you.

Practical

The Kubuswoningen are publicly accessible and free to photograph. One of the houses is set up as a show home and can be visited for a small fee, which is useful if you want to capture interiors as well. You can park in the car park beneath Blaak station or nearby. The Markthal and Blaak station are within walking distance, so you can easily combine the area into a longer session.

During the day it is almost always busy here. Tourists, school groups, commuters. For quieter street images or portraits with the cubes as a backdrop, your best bet is early on a weekday morning.

Sources and further reading

• Kijk-Kubus Rotterdam
• Rotterdam Make It Happen (officieel stadsportaal)
• Wikipedia: Kubuswoningen