At Irwell Bank Road in Singapore, two 36-storey residential towers have completed construction, with a lively, pixelated façade design contributed by MVRDV. Taking as a base the highly efficient, prefabricated, modular building design by Singapore-based ADDP Architects, MVRDV’s variegated façade adds liveliness to the buildings’ external appearance and highlights the green communal spaces on the buildings’ 24th floor and roof. The design is the latest in MVRDV’s oeuvre to show that efficiency and cost-effectiveness can happily coexist with character and individuality.
MVRDV has received construction permission for “The Island”, a 21-storey residential tower in Taichung, Taiwan. The design focuses on bringing greenery and nature to the city, as well as providing communal spaces for maximum liveability. Taking a cue from these ambitions, the tower takes on an organic expression: its many balconies and planters, as well as the building’s edges and openings, are defined by their soft curves, while the façade is finished in a mosaic of irregular ceramic tiling inspired by the work of Antoni Gaudí. The project features 76 apartments for sale above two floors featuring commercial spaces and a communal dining room, lounge, and karaoke space. With the development aimed at middle-class residents and especially young couples, communal areas are a significant focus of the design, with a large variety of shared outdoor spaces. The roof features a shared garden terrace, surrounding a layered green crown that hosts a multi-functional shared space for residents’ use. Five communal balconies are distributed among the building’s 21 floors, with each one carving a three-storey indent into the building’s façade to create a feeling of spaciousness.
The Strijp-S Tribune, a residential building with a two-storey commercial base in one of Eindhoven’s liveliest neighbourhoods, is now under construction. On Tuesday, November 11th, housing association Trudo celebrated the start of construction alongside contractor Stam + De Koning Bouw and Eindhoven alderman Stijn Steenbakkers. The Strijp-S Tribune’s stepped shape is a response to its surroundings, mediating between the open space of the Ketelhuisplein, the high-rise Haasje Over, the historic former factory building Anton, and the two-storey Area 51 building. With its stepped form, it provides a series of generous green terraces where residents can gather together and watch the events in the square below, which has become a cultural heart of Eindhoven. This grandstand-like role is further emphasised by the inclusion of a lookout that projects over the area’s characteristic Leidingstraat structure, providing a publicly accessible viewpoint from the corner of the Ketlhuisplein. Providing 44 apartments for social rent and a further 12 for the mid-market rental sector, the interior of the Strijp-S Tribune was designed to encourage community among the residents; its wide corridors receive daylight from both ends and include internal windows to the apartments, functioning more like a small street and encouraging neighbours to get to know each other.
MVRDV has won the competition for the new Asllan Rusi sports palace in Tirana, a mixed-use complex that includes a 6,000-seat arena for basketball and volleyball as well as residential apartments, a hotel, and ground-level retail. Taking the form of a sphere over 100 metres in diameter, MVRDV’s proposal combines these functions into a monumental stadium space that blends sport and community into a cohesive environment. Named The Grand Ballroom, the proposal will become a new addition to the city’s collection of distinctive architectural projects, and a singular destination for the people of the city to gather together. The competition entry was produced with a consortium comprising Trema Tech shpk, Likado BV, Albanian Capital Group shpk, and BCN Investments BV. The design’s distinctive feature, its spherical shape, accomplishes much more than simply creating an iconic structure alongside the road connecting the airport to the city centre. By stacking the hotel and residential functions on top of the arena itself, the design accommodates a significant amount of programme on a relatively small site. By making the building rounded, it avoids creating any “rear” façades that neglect the surrounding neighbourhood. By tapering inwards towards the building’s base, it creates more space for public plazas and outdoor sports facilities that can be used by local children. And by tapering inward at the top, it creates terraces for the building’s residents.
On Tuesday 28 October the City of Rotterdam, developers BPD and Synchroon, and MVRDV celebrated the start of construction of The Sax. Located on the Wilhelminapier in Rotterdam, The Sax comprises two towers – containing a total of 916 apartments – connected by a gold beam. In the presence of the Dutch Secretary-General of Housing and Spatial Planning Chris Kuijpers and the Rotterdam Alderman for Climate, Building, and Housing Chantal Zeegers, the first sheet pile was driven into the ground to mark the official start of construction. Rotterdam already has a fine collection of high-rise buildings, with a particular concentration at Wilhelminapier, home to some of the city’s most recognisable skyscrapers. The Sax is a quirky addition to this group, a silver-coloured building comprising two residential towers: the 180-metre, 55-storey “Havana” and 82-metre, 26-storey “Philadelphia”. These are bridged by a golden beam with six floors of residential units and a roof terrace at a height of 100 metres, accessible to all residents of The Sax. The building’s distinctive saxophone-inspired silhouette, along with the façade design that undulates as it approaches the top of the towers, illustrates the jazzy character of Rotterdam. The building blends with its surroundings, and from different angles, light falling on the façade creates a constantly changing effect, enhanced by the interplay of bay windows and undulating balconies.
On October 23rd, the construction of MVRDV’s Grüner Hügel reached its highest point. The ceremony was attended by the mayor of Mannheim Christian Specht, project developers GBG with their managing director Karl-Heinz Frings and 3iPro with their managing director Davut Deletioglu, and Achim Judt, the managing director of MWSP, the developer responsible for the Franklin district as a whole. Also in attendance were MVRDV senior associate Christine Sohar, representatives from MVRDV’s co-architect for the project, Schneider Schumacher, and the construction companies Implenia Hochbau and Diringer & Scheidel. Located at the heart of Franklin Mitte, the green hill will act as a central landmark in the MVRDV-designed masterplan, providing an identity to the neighbourhood and offering a crucial hub for meeting the needs of the residents. Part commercial centre, part park, the structure is topped by a balancing residential block that will soon add 34 apartments to the neighbourhood. Providing a supermarket, bakery, drugstore, pharmacy, and restaurant on its ground floor, with offices and the aforementioned apartments above, the hill will become a central place for the neighbourhood to meet their essential needs, from meeting and relaxing to working and grocery shopping.
On October 21st, 2025, the IPAI Konsortium – comprising the State of Baden-Württemburg, the Dieter Schwarz Foundation, Schwarz Gruppe, and the City of Heilbronn – celebrated the start of construction of the new campus of the Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (IPAI CAMPUS). Located in Heilbronn, Germany, the 30-hectare campus will serve as an international hub for over 5,000 people working on the development of innovative and responsible AI solutions. Based on the principles of openness, collaboration, and sustainability, the campus will be an attractive place to work as well as a destination for curious visitors to engage with the development of world-changing technologies first hand. In recognition of IPAI’s significance in both the field of artificial intelligence and in its home country, the ground breaking ceremony was attended by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, alongside high-profile politicians at national, state, and city levels, as well as VIPs of the IPAI Konsortium.
In March 2024, in response to the housing crisis, MVRDV published the Co-Living Design Study, created in collaboration with developer HUB and sustainable and impact investor Bridges Fund Management. The study researches and catalogues a range of typologies to create new opportunities for this emerging way of living that promotes community, flexibility, and shared spaces. Following its release and the enthusiastic response it received from across the architecture and housing sectors, MVRDV has now made the publication available for download at the link below.
MVRDV has launched CarbonSpace, a transparent, web-based tool that helps architects design with embodied carbon from day one of the design process. Developed out of a wish to improve carbon literacy and promote data transparency, CarbonSpace is now available to the public free of charge. Created by the practice’s research and development unit MVRDV NEXT, in collaboration with Studio AvW, the tool is designed to support informed decision-making throughout the design process, starting as early as a napkin sketch. It works with quantity estimates and a transparent database, offering fast feedback and the ability to compare different design options. Following its launch, the tool will also be used in collaboration with the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) to help establish a shared, global understanding of embodied carbon in buildings.
On 16th September 2025, one of the two projects that make up MVRDV’s Timber Hybrid buildings in Mannheim Franklin reached its highest point. This was celebrated in an event attended by Mayor Ralf Eisenhauer, MWSP managing director Achim Judt, Holger Heible and Hermann Brach representing developer RVI GmbH, and Christine Sohar, senior associate and project leader at MVRDV. Located in the heart of the Franklin Mitte district and adjacent to the Green Hill (Grüner Hügel), also designed by MVRDV, the development includes 56 apartments and a commercial unit. The timber hybrid building features an open, grid-like structure with spacious balconies and a vertically greened façade, which enhances the microclimate, supports biodiversity, and contributes to a vibrant, green urban centre. The project’s external wall is made from timber resulting in a reduction of approximately 116 tonnes of carbon dioxide – equivalent to around 900,000 car kilometres or the annual electricity consumption of 25 households. In addition, rooftop photovoltaic systems and connection to Mannheim’s future district heating network reduce the building’s energy consumption. The building will soon be joined by its sister project, which sits adjacent to the Benjamin Franklin Village Chapel, and will start construction in 2026. In addition to these buildings, MVRDV’s Grüner Hügel and nearby housing development Traumhaus Funari are currently under construction, while The 'O' is nearing completion.
