MVRDV is reshaping Taichung’s cityscape with its forthcoming residential tower, The Island, a 21-story structure that merges organic geometry with lush plantings. Located at the intersection of the North and Beitun districts, the tower introduces a vertical neighborhood into the dense urban fabric, emphasizing greenery and curved architectural forms over conventional rectilinear structures.
The building’s most striking feature is its ceramic mosaic façade, composed of irregular white tiles that respond to the tower’s soft curves. On flatter surfaces, large-format tiles provide a clean, reflective plane, while tighter curves are articulated with smaller, carefully cut pieces, allowing the façade to flow uninterrupted around balconies, recesses, and planter boxes. This meticulous tile arrangement creates a continuous, sculptural surface that reflects sunlight differently throughout the day, emphasizing the tower’s organic form and giving it a subtle, dynamic shimmer.
Balconies and openings follow the same curving logic, forming “outdoor rooms” that extend from the interior. The building features 104 private balconies with planted areas and 38 standalone facade planters, complementing communal terraces and a multi-level rooftop garden that crowns the tower with layered greenery. Each planted space is designed to host species reflective of Taichung’s regional flora, creating a biodiverse vertical landscape visible from every angle.
Internally, 76 apartments sit atop two floors of shared amenities and commercial space. Sustainability is embedded in the design: stone salvaged from the previous 13-story building will be reused for interior flooring, reducing construction waste while preserving a material link to the site’s history. 
Jacob van Rijs, MVRDV founding partner, describes The Island as bringing “a soft touch to a city full of boxes.” Here, the combination of curved geometry, ceramic craftsmanship, and integrated greenery creates a residential tower that is simultaneously playful, human-scaled, and deeply rooted in its urban context.
Source: MVRDV with additional information added by Glass Balkan
