1940年乌德港爆炸案中幸存的建筑物寥寥无几。由于1974年政府更迭，城市重建和住房成为市政厅的重中之重。汉斯·门廷克(HansMentink)，当时负责空间规划的政治家，已经厌倦了日益流行的实用建筑，他认为鹿特丹“需要一些有生命的建筑”。

Few buildings survived the 1940 bombing of the Oude Haven. As a result of a change in government in 1974, urban regeneration and housing became top priorities for the municipal council. Hans Mentink, the politician in charge of spatial planning at the time, had grown tired of the utilitarian architecture which was increasingly prevalent and believed that Rotterdam was “in need of architecture with some life in it.”

 © Dirk Verwoerd

德克·韦沃德

布洛姆在赫尔蒙德的立方体房屋给他留下了深刻的印象，门廷克授予他为乌德港地区制定开发计划的合同。自从赫尔蒙德之后就没有工作了，布洛姆既兴奋又有动力为鹿特丹市做他最好的工作；然而，他也被这个项目的挑战、重要性和规模所淹没。为了避免主要的干预，他告诉他的客户，他将设计它，“这样你就不能知道它是由一位建筑师设计的。”这一目标促使布罗姆将住宅开发分为三个截然不同的项目：blaaktoren，一座13层的六角形公寓楼，形状类似铅笔；Spaanse kade，一座围绕着一个内部庭院的梯田建筑群；库布斯沃宁根(Kubuswaningen)，是在一个更大的网格上对立方体房屋的成功探索。市议会对此表示赞赏，因为他们认为鹿特丹需要的不仅仅是立方住房。整个开发项目包括270套住宅，1000平方米的餐饮和商店，以及300辆汽车的停车场。

Impressed by Blom’s cube houses in Helmond, Mentink awarded him the contract to create a development plan for the Oude Haven area. Having not had work since Helmond, Blom was both excited and motivated to do his best work for the city of Rotterdam; however, he was also overwhelmed by the challenges, importance, and scale of the project. Wanting to avoid a dominating intervention, he told his client that he would design it “so that you cannot tell that it has been designed by one architect.” This objective led Blom to divide the housing development into three distinct projects: Blaaktoren, a 13-story hexagonal apartment tower that resembles the shape of a pencil; Spaanse Kade, a complex of terraced buildings that surrounds an inner courtyard; and the Kubuswoningen, a succeeding exploration of cube houses on a larger-scale grid. The municipal council appreciated this, as they believed that Rotterdam needed more than just cubic housing. The entire development contains 270 dwellings, 1000 square meters of catering and shops, and parking for 300 cars.

 © Dirk Verwoerd

德克·韦沃德

布洛姆被城市规划所吸引，他认为城市社区应该像村庄一样。在他的职业生涯中，他开始怀疑住房堆放的做法；令人遗憾的是，Blaaktoren和Spaanse Kade需要利用这一点来达到每公顷205所需的住房密度。另一方面，这种哲学上的妥协让他可以自由地不与库布斯沃宁根牺牲自己的理想。隐喻地说，他考虑了生活在树上的经历；每一个高架立方体代表一棵树，因此它们共同代表了一片森林。布洛姆意识到，将适宜居住的群众提升到狭窄的树干上，会使下面的公共空间最大化，同时从上面创造出理想的景观，这一概念是由勒柯布西耶的作品所启发的。

Fascinated by urban planning, Blom believed that urban communities should feel like villages. By this time in his career he had begun to doubt the practice of stacking residences; regrettably, Blaaktoren and Spaanse Kade needed to utilize this in order to achieve the required housing density of 205 dwellings per hectare. On the other hand, this philosophical compromise allowed him the freedom to not sacrifice his ideals with Kubuswoningen. Metaphorically, he considered the experience of living in trees; each elevated cube represented a tree and therefore they collectively represented a forest. Blom realized that elevating inhabitable masses on narrow trunks would maximize public space below while creating ideal views from above, a concept that was inspired by the work of Le Corbusier.

 © Dirk Verwoerd

德克·韦沃德

在设计和施工过程中，立方住宅的开发经历了各种挑战和复杂。该项目横跨七车道的布拉克(Blaak)，这是一条主要的交通动脉，作为连接附近市场和海港的人行桥。布拉克和地下地铁隧道构成了一个重大挑战。地基的施工需要绝对的精确性。其他无法预测的复杂情况包括发现了无法拆除的历史遗骸，撤出了承包商，减少了可建筑面积的地区供暖系统出现问题，以及经济衰退阻碍了重建工作。

The cubic housing development endured various challenges and complications during design and construction.  The project spans the seven-lane Blaak, a major traffic artery, serving as a pedestrian bridge that connects the nearby market to the harbour.  The Blaak and an underground metro tunnel posed a significant challenge, requiring absolute precision in the foundation’s construction.  Other complications that could not have been predicted included the discovery of historic remains that could not be removed, the withdrawal of a contractor, a problem with the district heating system which reduced the buildable area of the development, and an economic recession that stunted rebuilding efforts.

 © Dirk Verwoerd

德克·韦沃德

库布斯沃宁根的人行天桥以零售空间的长廊为特色，灵感来自佛罗伦萨的威奇奥桥(PonteVecchio)。除了住宅立方体之外，还有两个更大的“超级立方体”，最南端的超级立方体是作为一种建筑流派发展起来的，而最南端的超级立方体则是商业用途，但从未完全完成。上面的立方体房屋由一个六角形的塔架支撑，该塔由三根混凝土柱子和六块蜂窝砖墙连接而成。这些塔架包围了长廊水平的存储空间，供居民使用。每个立方体的总建筑面积为106平方米，分为三层。最低层是一个生活空间，一个角落有厨房，另一个角落有厕所和书房。上面的中间层有两间卧室和一间浴室。最上面的楼层是一个三角形金字塔形式的小空间，通常用作儿童卧室或太阳休息室。(鼓掌)

The Kubuswoningen’s pedestrian bridge features a promenade of retail space, which was inspired by the Ponte Vecchio in Florence.  In addition to residential cubes, there are also two larger “supercubes”.  The southernmost supercube was developed as a school of architecture while the nothernmost supercube was intended for commercial functions, but was never entirely finished.  The cube houses above are each supported by a hexagonal pylon that was constructed by joining three concrete pillars with six cellular brick walls.  These pylons enclose the promenade level storage space for residents.  Each cube has a total floor space of 106 square meters, divided into three levels.  The lowest floor serves as a living space, with a kitchen in one corner and a toilet and study space in another.  The intermediate floor above contains two bedrooms and a bathroom. The uppermost floor is a small space in the form of a triangular pyramid, often used as a child's bedroom or sun lounge.  

 © Dirk Verwoerd

德克·韦沃德

每个立方体被构造成一个木框架骨架，与岩石羊毛绝缘，用水泥和木纤维板护套。由于施工的复杂性，承包商建造了一个完整的模拟单元.Blaak的70分贝噪音水平意味着它面对的几扇窗户无法操作，幸运的是，住宅的几何形状和方向为可操作的窗户和通风提供了许多机会。

Each cube is constructed as a timber-frame skeleton, insulated with rock wool, and sheathed with cement and wood-fiber board.  Due to the complexity of construction, the contractor built a complete mock-up of one unit.  The 70dB noise level of the Blaak meant that the few windows facing it could not be operable.  Fortunately, the geometry and orientation of the dwellings provided many opportunities for operable windows and ventilation.

 © Dirk Verwoerd

德克·韦沃德

自1984年库布斯沃宁根建成以来，发生了一些变化。1998年的翻修包括增加新的锌屋顶，这些屋顶安装在原来的瓦上，以增加绝缘值。原来的零售空间被证明是不实用的，因为人流少，后来被重新设计成小办公室的工作室空间，有效地创造了一个现场工作社区。为了响应好奇的游客，一个住宅立方体已经向公众开放，这样游客就可以体验到独特的空间。最近，这两个超级立方体被改造成一所青年旅舍。并将未解决的商业空间转变为社会住房。

Since the Kubuswoningen’s completion in 1984, several changes have occured. A 1998 renovation included the addition of new zinc roofs, which were mounted over the original shingles to increase the insulation value.  The original retail spaces proved impractical due to low pedestrian traffic and have since been repurposed as studio spaces for small offices, effectively creating a live-work community.  One residential cube has been opened to the public as a response to curious tourists, so that visitors can experience the unique spatial volume.  Recently the two supercubes have been converted: the school of architecture into a youth hostel, and the unresolved commercial space into transitional social housing.

 Northeast Elevation

东北高程

随着随后的餐馆和酒吧的建设，奥德港成为城市中最有活力的夜生活区之一。考虑到布洛姆的建筑，特别是库布斯沃宁根的建筑，旨在捕捉鹿特丹的时尚和都市本质，这种演变并不令人惊讶。最著名的是他的立方体房子，皮埃特布洛姆没有一个多产的职业生涯作为一名建筑师，因为他很少愿意妥协他的非传统的理想。作为结构主义运动的重要先驱，他对形式、美学和空间体验的关注，而不是功能性，为未来荷兰设计师为创新和实验项目共同建立国际声誉铺平了道路。

Following the subsequent construction of restaurants and bars, the Oude Haven became one of the most vibrant nightlife areas in the city. This evolution is not a surprise considering that Blom's architecture, especially the Kubuswoningen, was meant to capture the fashionable and metropolitan essence of Rotterdam. Best known for his cube houses, Piet Blom did not have a prolific career as an architect as he was rarely willing to compromise his unconventional ideals. As an important pioneer of the Structuralist movement, his attention to form, aesthetics, and spatial experience as opposed to functionality, paved the way for future Dutch designers to collectively build an international reputation for innovative and experimental projects.

 © Dirk Verwoerd

德克·韦沃德

亨格维德·雅普Piet Blom(Americsfoort，荷兰：Jaap Hengeveld出版物，2007年)。

Hengeveld, Jaap. Piet Blom (Amersfoort, the Netherlands: Jaap Hengeveld Publications, 2007).

建筑师Piet Blom Location Overblaak 70，3011 MH鹿特丹，荷兰类别零售面积6000.0平方米，1984年项目年照片DirkVerwoerd

Architects Piet Blom Location Overblaak 70, 3011 MH Rotterdam, The Netherlands Category Retail Area 6000.0 sqm Project Year 1984 Photographs Dirk Verwoerd