Nassim Quattro is a four-unit complex in the Nassim Road precinct of Singapore, a highly affluent area known for its high quality Good Class Bungalows (GCB). The site itself is triangulated and gently sloping, and with a long access road limiting the amount of buildable land. In order to optimise the use of this very expensive plot of land, four bungalows have been incorporated into one complex. The design challenge was to transform the experience of four connected units into one, so that each unit feels as if the occupants were living in a landed house set amongst lush and luxuriant gardens and where grand established tropical hardwood trees define the perimeter. The architects have exploited the contour of the site to create an asymmetric plan as the second of the ground floor units dog-legs to run down one side of the triangle.
Winner- Urban Design & Architecture Design Awards 2019
Firm | Mercurio Design Lab
Category | Residential Multi Family
Team | Massimo Mercurio, Kimberly Liu
Country | Singapore
This generates a ground plane rhythm to match the rhythmic quality of the elevation. In fact, the design claims a musical inspiration for the way the front elevation is composed. Solids and voids, verticals and horizontals, and contrasting palettes are woven together like a piece of contrapuntal music where multiple voices work both independently and in unison. A large glazed façade is defined by a powerful interlocking composition of orthogonal travertine frames, communicating a surging rhythm which is pulled together into a single piece of music by the red bronze trellis that spans the entire length of the top of the building, providing shade to the rooftop terraces and mimicking a musical score.
Nassim is meant to be a luxurious tropical refuge from the hectic life of Singapore. Like any GCB, there is an appropriate transition from the busy public world to the tranquil private domain. This is the long, gently sloping driveway, where driving into the basement carpark, one passes under a waterfall which is activated as occupants approach their cars. Inside, the basement divides into four self-contained basement areas providing parking, and other amenities – laundry, maid’s room, an open void (drying area), and a lobby accessing a private lift.
Two units form the ground floor, each with its own private swimming pool. Apart from the basement, these units have two storeys, with living, dining, wet and dry kitchens and two bedrooms on the 1st storey, with two further bedrooms on the 2nd storey and a void connecting the two levels above the living space. Then two units sit above, each with a 4th storey roof terrace which has a private pool, timber deck and planters. In these upper units, the lower floor contains the living/dining area, along with wet and dry kitchens, while the next floor is the private bedroom domain, again connected to the lower level by a void. The extensive glazing and the easy open plan creates a sense of space with ample natural light penetrating from both the front and the back of the units. The squarish and compact layout makes the subdivision of the spaces usable and efficient.
