The 36-storey Irwell Hill Residences are in close proximity of to a wide range of shopping, dining, and entertainment options in Orchard Road, Singapore River and Great World. For the project design, developer CDL hired ADDP Architects to create a design that utilised prefabricated prefinished volumetric construction (PPVC), a type of construction in which entire rooms, including their finished surfaces and facades, are built in a factory and stacked together on site. This technique has a number of benefits, including a fast on-site construction time and high quality finishes; its downside, however, is that it often results in a repetitive and unimaginative appearance.

On the 24th floor, MVRDV proposed a 5-storey-high skygarden with food and drinks facilities for residents, while the rooftop features a terrace with social and leisure functions such as sports and relaxation facilities. In both of these sections of the building, the rigid grid of the pixelated façade loosens, with frames of various sizes showing off the trees and plants within.

Thanks to the high-quality, low-waste construction enabled by factory production, PPVC is by its nature a more sustainable construction technique. However, low-waste construction is only truly sustainable if a building makes a valued, long-term contribution to its neighbourhood and thus has longevity. MVRDV’s façade design for Irwell Hill Residences achieves this, demonstrating that a pragmatic design approach can also be an interesting, diverse, and lively one.