Photo credit: MVRDV
A residential tower that looks like it was yanked from the pixelated plains of Minecraft is set to rise in Taipei’s Tianmu neighborhood. Dutch architecture firm MVRDV, known for its boundary-pushing designs, has unveiled Out of the Box, a 25-story residential structure that’s as much a playful nod to blocky aesthetics as it is a clever response to Taiwan’s complex building regulations.
MVRDV’s Out of the Box tower in Taipei is a defiant middle finger to the cookie-cutter glass skyscrapers clogging city skylines. Rising 250 feet with 25 floors of apartments, this bold design slaps a chaotic yet calculated facade of jutting, boxy protrusions onto the Taiwanese capital, turning heads while carving out extra living space and outdoor nooks like balconies and terraces. “By cross-referencing Taiwanese regulations, we created a catalogue of boxes that offer a range of simple balconies, combined ‘loggia-balconies,’ and double-height balconies connected to duplex apartments,” MVRDV says, making it clear these aren’t just for looks.
- NERF MINECRAFT FIREBRAND DART-BLASTING AXE: The Nerf Minecraft Firebrand axe takes its inspiration from Minecraft: Dungeons game
- FIRES DARTS: Surprise everyone with this axe that's also a dart blaster! Fun to take along on all your Minecraft adventures
- 3 DART CAPACITY: The front of the axe has slots for 3 darts, so players can unleash 3 darts in a row before it's time to reload
Taiwan’s labyrinthine building codes could’ve been a nightmare, but MVRDV flipped the script, using digital scripting to nail the size and placement of each box, balancing sunlight and privacy like a high-stakes Tetris game. “The building’s floorplans are based on a small number of repeating apartment types, but the addition of the boxes creates slight variations throughout,” the firm notes. It’s not just random stacking—it’s a deliberate play of light and space that feels alive.
Out of the Box isn’t all style, though—it’s got soul. Those cantilevered boxes give Taipei residents something rare: private outdoor space in a city where terraces are gold. In Taipei’s sticky, subtropical vibe, balconies for morning coffee or sprawling terraces for weekend hangs are a big deal, pushing living beyond four walls. It’s classic MVRDV, echoing their vibe of buildings that vibe with their surroundings, as founding partner Winy Maas once put it: “Proximity makes sense. That’s a fundamental part of our culture.” Here, it’s about linking folks to fresh air and community.
The materials seal the deal. Clad in sleek marble, the tower’s blocky form gets a classy glow, far from some chunky Minecraft build. It nods to Taipei’s love for natural materials while meshing with the greenery planned for those terraces, turning the building into a vertical jungle that softens Tianmu’s urban grit. MVRDV’s done this before—think La Serre in Paris, with its 390 trees sprouting from a high-rise—and Out of the Box keeps that nature-meets-tech spirit alive.
[Source]
