Backpacker Buzz

The newest HI affiliated hostel in the Netherlands was designed by Dutch architect Piet Blom and it's not your average straight-walled establishment. Built in Rotterdam (Amsterdam's working class rival), the Kubuswoningen, or cube houses, were designed to represent abstract trees complete with a supporting concrete trunk.  The concept was that a mini-village of these cubes would create a "forest" of urban housing - the design equivalent of double Dutch translated into an architectural icon.

During WWII, the centre of Rotterdam was bombed which destroyed many of the older buildings in the centre of the city. This allowed for a rebuilding process which fostered ambitious architectural projects along with a reconstruction of the city's identity, incorporating the cultural development of a growing, multicultural 21st century population and the creative freedom of the coffee shop generation. Rotterdam also has an increasingly vibrant nightlife and a promising summer festival programme to challenge its reputation as a predominantly work-oriented city.  The cubed-houses are located above the Blaak, which provides a view to the Old Harbour, a place to check the café and lively nightlife scene. 

If you're trekking the concrete jungle, book a stay in Rotterdam's iconic, architecturally designed urban forest for a unique hostelling experience.

Stayokay Rotterdam
Overblaak 85-87
Rotterdam
Netherlands
 
Tel. +31 (0) 10 - 436 57 63
Fax. +31 (0) 10 - 426 55 69
rotterdam@stayokay.com