MVRDV has received construction permission for “The Island”, a 21-storey residential tower in Taichung, Taiwan. The design focuses on bringing greenery and nature to the city, as well as providing communal spaces for maximum liveability. Taking a cue from these ambitions, the tower takes on an organic expression: its many balconies and planters, as well as the building’s edges and openings, are defined by their soft curves, while the façade is finished in a mosaic of irregular ceramic tiling inspired by the work of Antoni Gaudí.

© MVRDV

The project features 76 apartments for sale above two floors featuring commercial spaces and a communal dining room, lounge, and karaoke space. With the development aimed at middle-class residents and especially young couples, communal areas are a significant focus of the design, with a large variety of shared outdoor spaces. The roof features a shared garden terrace, surrounding a layered green crown that hosts a multi-functional shared space for residents’ use. Five communal balconies are distributed among the building’s 21 floors, with each one carving a three-storey indent into the building’s façade to create a feeling of spaciousness.

© MVRDV

The Island is a response to Taichung’s liveable building regulations, which incentivise an increase in outdoor space and greenery. Located at the border between Taichung’s North District and Beitun District, until the 21st century the site was close to the edge of the city; today, following a wave of urbanisation in Beitun District, it finds itself at the heart of a densely packed commercial neighbourhood.

To counteract this condition, the project creates an oasis of greenery within the city. In addition to the aforementioned rooftop and communal balconies, the design introduces street-level planting, 104 private balconies with planted areas, and 38 standalone façade planters, complete with a selection of plants that reflects the diversity of nature in the whole of Taichung province.

© MVRDV

In addition to the project’s biodiversity goals, sustainability is also a goal in the context of carbon emissions. Currently the site is home to a 13-storey commercial and office building that was built before the country’s most recent earthquake-related building regulations, and therefore has to be demolished. Instead of discarding this material as waste, the construction of The Island will reuse materials where possible, for example by saving the stone from the existing building’s walls and floors to be reused as a floor finish in the new building.

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To emphasise the project’s dedication to bringing nature back to the city, its greenery is complemented by the organic curves throughout the design, made possible by the ceramic façade. Using a mosaic of small irregular shapes, the tiles can be adapted to every curve, in a technique best known from the work of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. Using a variety of different shades of white, larger pieces are used on the flat areas and a smaller, more granular pattern gives a smooth finish to the tighter curves. This technique not only provides a high-quality finish but also one that is easy to maintain.

© MVRDV

“The design of The Island brings a soft touch in a city full of boxes”, says MVRDV founding partner Jacob van Rijs. “As with other residential buildings in Taiwan, the building’s underlying layout had to follow a fairly standardised and highly efficient approach. The building’s character therefore has to come from its details, from the soft curves, from the Gaudí-inspired façade finish, and from the way greenery is integrated as if the building is part of the same organic system.”

See more of the design of The Island here.