Irwell Hill Residences rise in singapore
Designed in collaboration between MVRDV and local practice ADDP Architects, two residential towers dubbed the Irwell Hill Residences rise above the dense urban weave of Singapore. The project presents a study in how modular construction can carry architectural nuance. The 36-story development, with its pixelated facades, employs prefabricated pre-finished volumetric construction, a method that allows entire rooms to be assembled off-site before being stacked into place. This way, the building process minimizes waste and labor while maintaining precision.
Commissioned by City Developments Limited, the project exemplifies Singapore’s continuing commitment to productivity-driven construction. However, the collaboration between MVRDV and ADDP Architects moves beyond efficiency to consider the towers‘ texture, depth, and relationship to light.
images © Finbarr Fallon
mvrdv’s facade of occupiable pixels
Designing Singapore’s Irwell Hill Residences with ADDP Architects, MVRDV‘s intervention lies in the articulation of the facade. Each prefabricated unit becomes a single ‘pixel,’ and through variation in projection and finish, these modules form an irregular rhythm across the building’s surface. Metal frames extend or recede to form balconies, producing a measured relief that changes throughout the day as sunlight glances across it. Gold and deep brown tones run through the pattern, referencing climbing plants and lending a soft, organic variation to the composition.
The approach transforms repetition, an inevitable trait of modularity, into an asset. Where uniformity might flatten a building’s presence, the pixelated treatment gives each tower a sense of motion and individuality within the grid.
Irwell Hill Residences uses modular construction to shape two textured towers in Singapore
punctuated by green space
Between the Singapore towers’ vertical planes, greenery marks a pause in the ascent. The 24th floor opens into a four-story sky garden where trees and planting weave through the structure, visible from the street as a band of color and texture. At the rooftop, Irwell Sky offers a more intimate space framed by double- and triple-height modules that reveal the plantings within.
These shared landscapes punctuate the complex facade with pockets of green social infrastructure. They soften the towers’ outline against the skyline and create shaded, breathable thresholds for residents, aligning with Singapore’s broader commitment to vertical greenery and liveable density.
‘Over the decades, Singapore has shown itself to be a city of incredible innovation in architecture and urbanism,’ says MVRDV founding partner Nathalie de Vries. ‘The city is once again showing leadership in modular construction, and is seeing the benefits of PPVC in reducing waste, carbon emissions, and disruption to city life. With Irwell Hill Residences, alongside ADDP Architects we took aim at the next step in that story of innovation: a PPVC
project that prioritises variety and liveability.’
MVRDV introduces a pixelated facade that varies depth and shadow
balconies formed by recessed and projected modules create subtle relief
gold and deep brown tones bring warmth to the towers
landscaped sky gardens can be discovered along the 24th floor
Irwell Sky offers a smaller shared landscape at the rooftop
The facade design turns repetition into a source of identity
project info:
name: Irwell Hill Residences
location: Singapore
completion: 2025
client: City Developments Limited
photography: © Finbarr Fallon | @fin.barr
founding partner in charge: Nathalie de Vries
partner: Wenchian Shi
design team: Lorenzo Mattozzi, Marco Gazzola, Alberto Menozzi, Luca Beltrame, Fredy Fortich, Amanda Galiana Ortega, Andrea Ventura, Monika Wiecha, Chi Zhang
visualizations: Antonio Luca Coco, Gianlorenzo Petrini
co-architect (building design, project coordination): ADDP Architects LLP | @addparchitects
landscape architect: Ecoplan
structural engineer: TW-Asia Consultants Pte Ltd.
MEP: United Project Consultants Pte Ltd.
interior architect: Index Design Pte Ltd.
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