MVRDV has created one-of-a-kind façade made up of recycled ocean plastics for the Tiffany & Co. store at Changi Airport in Singapore. 

Named Tiffany Façade Singapore Changi, the 142-square-metre store is wrapped by a sustainable façade in a cell-like pattern, meeting the company's commitment to sustainability.

MVRDV's new store is located in the airport’s Piazza Garden, near to the Moshe Safdie-designed Jewel Changi - which was completed in 2019. 

Clad in a coral-inspired screen, the screen was created with 3D printed technology using recycled plastic under the assistance of Amsterdam-based company Aectual and Milan-based engineers BUROMILAN.

In developing the design, the MVRDV team identified a series of distinctive design characteristics that would speak to Tiffany’s identity and history, ranging from touches of Tiffany Blue® to the use of innovative materials, inspired by Louis Comfort Tiffany’s contributions to the world of glass art during the late 19th century. 

The design also gives references to Tiffany’s design legacy as a nod to its flora and fauna throughout the store.

In the design process, MVRDV’s designers looked to the local environment and Singapore’s coral reefs to define a theme for the store. 

The studio used the existing patterns seen in coral species as a guide. Taking the existing information from coral species, the team designed a screen to cover the store’s façade with an organic, cell-like pattern. 

"This screen foregrounds a layer of glass that was screen printed with a colour gradient, transitioning from Tiffany’s signature robin’s-egg blue to a deep blue that references Singapore’s ocean setting," said MVRDV. 

"The technology taskforce at MVRDV NEXT helped to refine the pattern of the coral-inspired screen, developing scripts to make sure the design could withstand various stresses," the studio added.

The choice of materials was a key factor to define the innovation aspect of the project, according to the team. 

To achieve this, 3D printing experts Aectual developed a process to produce the 50-millimetre-thick screen using recycled plastic, including reclaimed and recycled fishing nets. 

The design team emphasized that "by making use of this unusual source of recycled plastic, the design not only draws inspiration from the oceans, but also plays a part in protecting them."

The façade design had to meet stringent fire safety regulations, especially those required at an airport, and the team noted that to solve this issue, here, BUROMILAN added a chemical to the mixture that is also manufactured using seawater.

The gradient of light and dark blue returns in the 3D-printed portion of the design, in multiple ways: around the store’s entrances, the screen is light blue at the front and dark blue at the back.

On the other hand, this gradient is reversed in the very corners of the façade, with a gradual transition in between – a gradient in all three dimensions.

Facade

Detail

MVRDV transformed an old mixed-use tower into a vibrant and colourful women and children’s centre in Shenzhen, China. 

The firm also completed a "geology-inspired sustainable tower" in San Francisco's Mission Rock and built a demountable office and laboratory in the heart of Amsterdam Science Park, in which over 90 per cent of the building's materials can be recycled and reused.

Project facts

Project name: Tiffany Façade Singapore Changi 

Location: Changi, Singapore

Year: 2023

Client: Tiffany & Co.

Architect: MVRDV

Founding Partner in charge: Jacob van Rijs 

Partner: Fokke Moerel

Design team: Jacob van Rijs, Fokke Moerel, Aser Gimenez Ortega, Elien Deceuninck, Simone Costa, Monica Di Salvo, Xiaoyi Qin, Natalia Lipczuk, Yayun Liu, Jaka Korla

Contractor: Grandwork

Coral in recycled fishnet material: Aectual B.V.

Lighting designer: Cooley Monato Studio

Engineering advisor: BUROMILAN - Milan Ingegneria S.p.A. 

Glass with gradient print: DDG Glass Pte Ltd

All images © Tiffany&Co.

> via MVRDV

3D printing coral coral reefs façade MVRDV recycled plastic store