INTERNATIONAL OFFSITE
MODULAR MARVELS
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.
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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.
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%.”
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.
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.
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
Jointly developed by Singapore-listed UOL Group and United Industrial Corp (UIC), Clement Canopy was completed about six months ahead of schedule and it is estimated that using conventional construction methods, the towers would have taken 30 to 36 months to complete.
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The towers were part of the farsighted building approach adopted by Singapore. Since 2014, Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority has stipulated that ‘selected sites offered in the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme need to adopt the use of prefabricated volumetric construction (PPVC) for at least 65% of the total constructed floor area within residential developments.’ “In Singapore, PPVC is 5 to 10% more expensive,” says Pierre-Eric SaintAndré, Deputy CEO for Bouygues Bâtiment International. “Because we’re still at the start of the learning curve. It’s a question of scale – we need the supply chain to move with us and to improve. Our objective is to be a game-changer in the industry and to do that means to be able to build at a lower cost. I believe in the very near future, it will be better.” The Clement Canopy team now plans to continue their methodology in various projects across the UK, Australia, USA, and Hong Kong. For more information visit: www.dragages.com.sg Images: 01-02. Singapore’s Clement Canopy is showcasing what can be done with concrete offsite manufacture. Courtesy Dragages Singapore
WWW.OFFSITEMAGAZINE.CO.UK | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019