Kimen’s Jervois Mansion won the Top Development award by scoring high marks in Landscape, Design, Innovation, Sustainability, Marketing and Showflat Excellence, displaying all-roundedness in design and planning.

The judges were impressed by Kimen’s unique concept of “bungalow-inspired living” – something that is rare in land-scarce Singapore, and even more rare in the highly dense central region.

Six free standing five-storey blocks are placed loosely on the site, akin to the placement of villas in a good-class-bungalow neighbourhood, cleverly utilising a low-density format to achieve the luxurious lifestyle of residing in a spacious “bungalow”.

Jervois Mansion’s unprecedented innovative design sees six inter-connecting rooftop quarters that cater to a range of lifestyles: Family Quarter for strengthening family ties and enjoy every moment together; Sunrise Quarter for basking in the sun or calming the weary senses with some yoga; Wilderness Quarter for embracing the magnificence of the Regenerative Woods; Junior Quarter for little ones to celebrate birthdays, holidays, or simply learn as they have fun. Harvest Quarter for fostering neighbourly ties through the love for harvesting and sharing in the urban garden; and Social Quarter for making new friends and widening networks. Each block’s facilities can be booked through a user-friendly community app.

The six rooftop quarters also act as a membrane to dissipate heat from the living areas below and collect solar energy, just two of the many biophillic features that incorporate natural lighting and ventilation, natural landscape features and other elements. Kimen’s focus on being green and sustainable is so strong that Jervois Mansion has received the BCA Green Mark GoldPLUS Super Low Energy (SLE) award, one of the first private residential developments to achieve the SLE rating.

Kimen’s concept of “bungalow-inspired living” extends to the landscape of the development for which Jervois Mansion also won the award for Landscape Excellence.

The overall landscape is a veil of greenery draped over the six residential blocks. The greenery is not only aesthetic in appearance but also very much alive, starkly contrasting with the unproductive and purely ornamental flora in most other developments. Almost all the species are also pollinator friendly which will encourage a proliferation of desirable fauna such as small animals, insects and birds. Much thought has gone into the selection of more than 100 plant species, from trees, palms, shrubs, groundcovers and grasses, of these, more than half of the species are considered native or endemic to Singapore.

The landscape itself is also productive, with most of the plant species being able to be harvested and used as medicine or food. Harvesting of these will be incorporated into the foraging walks as well as regular plant management regimes.

What really sets Jervois Mansion apart from other developments is its attention to the aesthetics which honours the legacy of the heritage black-and-white GCB architecture style of the prestigious colonial neighbourhood. And the display of artworks enhances the theme of a bungalow-inspired home, with nature-themed artworks curated to reflect the personality of each residential block. The experience of artistic living is holistic with art photography setting the stage with works decorating the lobby and basement areas, continuing with sculptures placed in the most unexpected parts of the common areas, and culminating with elevators adorned with graphical works that add a splash of vibrance to the lives of residents as they move from basement to roof.

After receiving the awards, Arthur Aw, executive director of Kimen Group, said, “We are very humbled and honoured to win these awards. It could not have been possible without the collaboration Kimen has with our partners and consultant team. With Jervois Mansion, we wanted to push the envelope to develop something that the market has not seen before. I believe we have achieved this with Jervois Mansion which lets residents experience the 7 essences of living life well – wellness, creativity, growth, nourishment, energy, kinship and longevity. These 7 essences anchor all the minute details of the development to create a cohesive and synergistic greater whole. These awards spur us to deliver the vision and realise the exceptional value for our buyers.”