Earlier this year Singapore's Clement Canopy assumed the position of the world's tallest modular building. Built by Dragages Singapore and designed by ADDP Architects, the residential towers surpassed the 135-metre tower at George Street, Croydon.
Across the globe the world of construction is undergoing a wave of disruption with major contractors looking to use more offsite design and delivery to introduce innovation and generational change. The pressure to build quick, cost-effective and sustainable buildings has never been greater. Add to this the aesthetic confidence - that is pivotal to any new piece of architecture - and imaginative building designers and structural engineers are continuing to stretch the imaginations about what can be constructed.
The global penetration of offsite construction is difficult to quantify, with levels in continental Europe, the UK, USA and the Asia Pacific region in particular in a constant state of flux. Perhaps the only way to assess it is to monitor the increasing amount of flagship developments that continue to appear. One landmark development is in the heart of booming Singapore.
In April 2016, the Singapore government awarded Dragages Singapore, a subsidiary of French contractor Bouygues Bâtiment International, the contract to design and build Clement Canopy. Clement Canopy is a pair of 140-metre high towers made from prefabricated concrete modules and comprise of 1,899 prefabricated and pre-finished modules built offsite in Malaysia. "Each module is around 85% finished offsite, before then being assembled onsite," says Aurélie Cleraux, Head of Modular Construction at Bouygues Bâtiment International. "This includes the painting, windows frame and glazing, doors, wardrobes and MEP including water and sanitary pipes, electrical conduits and ducting, which are all totally finished before the modules arrives on-site. This method is definitely more eco-friendly. We were able to reduce waste onsite by 70%."
Clement Canopy contains 505 twothree- and four-bedroom apartments, with a swimming pool complex at the base. The buildings consist of two towers measuring 459 feet each - the tallest to be built in modular concrete. At 40-storey structure offers housing in the heart of a much sought after residential and student area of Singapore.
To read the full article, go to Offsite Hub issue 19
