Bouygues Batiment International and modular construction laboratory, Dragages Singapore have completed the construction of the world’s tallest modular buildings, the Clement Canopy buildings in Singapore
The Clement Canopy is 40-storeys tall and offers housing in the heart of a residential and student zone in Singapore. The buildings consist of two towers measuring 459 feet each – the tallest to be built in modular concrete.
Clement Canopy is made up of 1,899 modules and contains 505 luxury residential apartments. Most of the project was manufactured offsite before the modules were assembled on-site.
Bouygues Batiment International’s head of modular construction, Aurélie Cleraux, said: “The module structures were precast in a yard in Senai, Malaysia. Then a factory in Tuas, west Singapore, carried out the fit-outs including painting, windows frames and glazing, doors, wardrobes and MEP [mechanical, electrical and plumbing] to a nearly finished stage.”
He added that upon arrival at the site, the modules were stacked and installed at the same time the concrete core was built in a carefully choreographed sequence.
The team embarked on the challenge of modular construction due to the many potential gains. By industrialising and building 50% of the project offsite, loss of time due to poor on-site weather conditions was mitigated. Each module can also be manufactured under strict quality control, treatments, and defects can be managed prior to handover. The team estimates that using the method, on-site waste can be reduced by 70%.
The Clement Canopy team now plans to continue their methodology in various projects across the UK, Australia, USA, and Hong Kong.
