BT: In the hills, yet in town

In and out: (Above) A Khmer bust, the outdoor pavilion furnished with a sofa, the dining room and study room as seen from across the 17-m-long pool clad in slick, shimmering black Italian glass mosaic tiles, and the dining area with Khmer art pieces

Business Times - 09 Feb 2008

In the hills, yet in town

Swiss Nicole Cavalli, who is in wine business, and her husband 'enjoy every minute' in their bungalow near the crest of a hill overlooking a residential estate in Braddell Heights, reports GEOFFREY EU

THERE are many things that Nicole Cavalli likes about being Swiss, but after a dozen years in Asia - seven of them in Singapore - she's fallen in love with the tropical lifestyle. It's certainly different from her hometown outside Zurich, but now that it's deep into the winter months in Europe she readily appreciates the simpler things in life, such as walking about barefoot in her garden or leaving open the doors and windows to her house and letting a warm tropical breeze flow through.

Since moving into her new home, a distinctive-looking, wonderfully proportioned modern bungalow perched near the crest of a hill overlooking a residential estate in Braddell Heights, Ms Cavalli has had daily opportunities to enjoy the panoramic view and the assorted joys of living in

this part of the world.

Prior to building their own home, she and her husband had spent a significant amount of time looking at other houses, searching for a suitable plot of land to build on and selecting an architect to help create their two-storey, glass-and-granite encased vision of the ideal tropical habitat. Being Swiss, they had a pretty precise idea of what they wanted and now, after 18 months of construction and eight months after moving in, she says she couldn't be happier.

'I love it, we really enjoy every minute here,' says Ms Cavalli, who actually rented a house within walking distance of the site so that she could have daily access during the construction period.

She adds that it was worth taking the time to go through every painstaking detail with her builders. 'The Swiss are very meticulous,' she says. 'After being a supervisor at a construction site for 18 months, I said to my contractor: 'There is a reason why we are so good at making watches'.'

Ms Cavalli has also turned her ability to communicate with people into a fledgling business - she is the local distributor for Quinta do Zambujeiro, a line of fine Portuguese wines. The winery is located in south-east Portugal and is owned by a Swiss wine enthusiast who has been resident in Singapore for the past 30 years. Its prestige label - Zambujeiro - was recently given a rating of 95 points by wine guru Robert Parker.

'People here are very receptive to wines, and Portuguese wine is something different,' notes Ms Cavalli, who has lived in Vietnam and Hong Kong and makes it a point to start a business and keep herself occupied wherever she lives. She was also a competitive swimmer during her high school years, representing Switzerland at events like the 50m and 100m sprints. 'Then I realised that studying was more important than swimming,' she says. She studied law but never practised.

As might be expected, however, water still plays a significant part in Ms Cavalli's life. She worked closely with Rene Tan of RT + Q Architects on the design, and specified the importance of a lap pool. The architect drew up a plan that includes a 17-m-long swimming pool that runs along the length of the living room then wraps itself in an 'L' shape next to the dining area. The pool, clad in slick, shimmering black Italian glass mosaic tiles, has also been integrated into other parts of the house, most notably near the front entrance and in the guest powder room, which has a cool indoor-outdoor quality to it.

The environment outside - in the form of clear overhead panels that allow natural light to stream in and strategically placed openings in the roof - has also been incorporated into the other bathrooms in the four-bedroom house. Between the living and dining areas is a cozy study 'cube', lined with bookshelves and finished from floor to ceiling in wood. Meanwhile, a large water-feature wall finished in black slate runs alongside one of the boundary walls.

The main design features include an aluminium roof, matte surfaces finished in fair-faced concrete, and large sliding and folding glass doors throughout that allow natural light to stream in and open up to allow for natural ventilation. 'We wanted to have it as open as possible,' says Ms Cavalli. 'You can't have this in Switzerland. We wanted to have a proper garden and to have an open concept because we enjoy sitting in the outdoors.'

In the far corner of the garden, there is a pretty modern pavilion furnished with an outdoor sofa to lounge in and great views of the valley spread out in the near distance below. From the pavilion, it is also possible to enjoy views of the main house, especially during the evenings when it glimmers like an outsized light box.

Ms Cavalli employed the services of an Australian lighting consultant to ensure the house shines in more ways than one. In addition, all the rooms in the house, the kitchen as well as the outdoor pavilion are wired for sound, with high-tech Bang & Olufsen speakers throughout. There are more than half a kilometre of speaker cables running through the house, she says.

Perhaps the most commendable feature of Ms Cavalli's house on the hill is the fact that although the plot size is only about 8,300 square feet, there is a great sense of open space throughout, thanks in part to the unobstructed views and glass doors, but also to the fact that the building area occupies less than 30 per cent of the total plot. 'We realised that people like to build to the maximum allowable limit, but we were able to meet our space requirements and still have enough left for a nice garden,' she says.

'You hear birds and crickets - we are surrounded by nature, yet we are only seven minutes from the city centre,' she points outs. Ms Cavalli adds that because she and her husband didn't rush the construction stage, focused on getting the details right and insisted on using high-quality materials throughout, they are now reaping the benefits. 'It has been a very pleasant experience all the way,' she adds.