A pair of 56-story prefabricated skyscrapers have been designed by Singapore-based architecture studio ADDP.
The towers will be made using Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric materials. They are the tallest prefabricated towers in the world. The buildings are called Avenue South Residences and built amid a backdrop of five four-story heritage, Art Deco-style buildings on Silat Avenue. The contrast between total modern buildings set among old-style designed structures is fascinating.
The live-work-play concept is surrounded by green spaces, connecting to the environment and giving an oasis of peace in the busy island.
“The site consists of two super-high-rises set against the original backdrop of four-storey heritage Art Deco apartments and an avenue of grand rain trees,” said Markus Cheng Thuan Hann, associate partner at ADDP Architects.
“Its location alongside the historical KTM Rail Corridor strengthens its eclectic quality of new versus old, geological heritage versus modern concepts of live-work-play,” he told Dezeen.
The skyscrapers will have over 1,000 residences. There will be a series of 16 “pocket sky terraces” and larger communal terraces on the 19th and 36th stories.
The terraces will offer multi-story green spaces at varying levels. The building facade will have wood-colored vertical screens giving a textured fabric aesthetic. They will act as sun-shades too.
The project will also feature an urban public park that provides a gateway to the adjacent rail corridor network. The interactive gardens include a built-in observation deck, rock climbing walls, and ramps linking to a playground at ground level. Parking garages will be wrapped around with green foliage on the walls. Before assemblage, 80% of each module for the skyscrapers will be created off-site, stacked, and joined together on-site. ADDP says waterproofing, tiling, painting, glazing, cabinetry, plumbing and electrics will be completed before being delivered to be “stacked and joined together on-site”. “As each module is almost 80 per cent finished off-site prior to assembly on-site, this will greatly reduce the construction time required on-site – as the modules are only required to be‘stacked’ and ‘joined’ together on-site,” explained Hann.
“This will enable the project to reduce wastage both on-site and off-site with better control of the production processes through a central materials and logistics platform.”
The government ordained that PPVC had to used for the skyscrapers on the site. This is to promote better efficiency and energy conservation, both in terms of manpower and material used. “The site of Avenue South Residence was selected and set a minimum level of use of PPVC, where this align with government’s initiative to improve construction productivity by up to 40 per cent in terms of manpower and time savings – depending on the complexity of the projects.”
“To raise construction productivity and fundamentally change the design and construction processes, the industry is encouraged to embrace the concept of Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA), where construction is designed and detailed for a substantial portion of work to be done off-site in a controlled manufacturing environment,” said Hann.
The benefits of using prefabrication in construction are many over the traditional method of labor intensive and costly construction material.
The biggest advantage is that it cuts down on the noise and dust pollution as most of the construction activities are carried out off-site.
“Besides, it also enhanced project quality control and site safety. Off-site fabrication in a controlled factory environment can produce higher quality end products,” added Hann.
