Nassim Quattro, a four-unit residential complex, is nestled in the Nassim Road precinct of Singapore. The site where it stands is triangulated and gently sloping, with a long access road limiting the amount of buildable land. Despite the complexity, to maximize the allowable area for construction, Mercurio Design Lab took advantage of the long driveway to give residents more privacy and lend exclusivity to the property. At the same time, the designers and architects incorporated four bungalows into one building, optimizing the use of this very expensive plot. It somehow posed a challenge to transform the experience of four connected units into one so that each residence is perceived as if the occupants were living in a landed house set amongst luxuriant gardens and where grand established tropical hardwood trees define the perimeter.
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Nassim Quattro
Residential Architecture (Built)
Firm
Mercurio Design Lab S.r.l.
Architect/Designer
Massimo Mercurio
Design Team
Massimo Mercurio, Kimberly Liu
Location
Italy
Country
Singapore
Photographer/Copyright
©Mercurio Design Lab S.r.l.
The development’s 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 independently and in unison. The driving was to write a solid symphony on a musical score that acts as a binder of design components. This musical score, represented by a red aluminum trellis, spans the entire length of the top of the building, functioning both as a shading device for the rooftop terraces and as an ideal key element in the composition of Nassim Quattro architecture.
Two-story units with a basement and private pool form the ground floor. Sitting atop them are two more two-story apartments, each with a roof terrace with a private pool and garden. All units have living, dining, wet and dry kitchens on their first level and bedrooms on the second level. The space was maximized and enhanced by holistically blending and extending the interiors into the lavish exterior greenery, making it appear as a whole.
The squarish and compact layout makes the subdivision of the spaces usable and efficient. Built with large double glazed windows, doors, and skylight, and with an easy-open plan of the living/dining/dry kitchen, the place creates a sense of space, allowing ample wind breeze and abundant natural light to penetrate the front and the back of the units.
Nassim Quattro is to be a luxurious haven from the hectic life of Singapore. Driving to the property, one feels a gentle transition from the busy public world to the tranquil private domain. While entering the place, the residents relax at the sight of the lush greeneries in the scenery. From the driveway going into the basement carpark, homeowners pass under a cascading water curtain— a waterfall —which activates as they arrive in their cars. Inside, the garage divides into four self-contained areas providing individual parking and a private lift.
Framed by the boughs of decades-old tropical hardwoods, combined with private pools and a large communal pool that creates the sensation of living on the water, Nassim Quattro gives an idyllic feeling, a true refuge in the heart of a city.