“The Island” is a 21-story residential tower in Taichung, Taiwan, designed to bring greenery and nature to the city, while also providing communal spaces.

The project features 76 apartments, commercial spaces, and a communal dining room, lounge, and karaoke space.

The roof features a shared garden terrace, surrounding a layered green crown that hosts a multi-functional shared space for residents’ use.

The Island will reuse materials wherever possible, for example, by salvaging stone from the existing building’s walls and floors to be used as a floor finish in the new building.

Its greenery is complemented by the organic curves throughout the design, made possible by the ceramic facade. Using a mosaic of small irregular shapes, the tiles can be adapted to every curve, in a technique best known from the work of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. Using a variety of different shades of white, larger pieces are used on the flat areas, while a smaller, more granular pattern is applied to the tighter curves, resulting in a smooth finish.