House Tour: A well-travelled couple’s Sentosa Cove vacation home with breathtaking sea views

Perched on the southernmost point of Sentosa Island, this stunning Sentosa Cove villa designed by WOW Architects offers breathtaking, unobstructed views of the ocean and the iconic red beacon buoy that guides ships through the Buran channel. The visionary owners, a well-traveled couple with an eye for design, instantly fell in love with the plot when they saw it and knew this was where they wanted to build their dream vacation home.

Villa in Sentosa Cove 

“Our client was the visionary founder of a global maritime fuel business with a fascination with ocean front properties around the world. Settling in Singapore with his wife and two daughters, he was particularly drawn to Sentosa’s dynamic views of the shipping corridors and mega sea vessels on the horizon juxtaposed against the silhouette of the Sisters’ Islands to the south and the Indonesian archipelago beyond,” says the design team from WOW Architects. 

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View of a beacon

“Set at the southernmost point of Sentosa Island, the site offers a sweeping view of the sea and an imposing relationship to the ocean front. Because of its unique location the site has an obstructed view of the ocean, in the center of this expansive view is one of the quirks of the site, a imposing red Buoy.

This red Buoy is a beacon and nautical marker , so that ships coming in on the Sisters Fairway can navigate through the Buran channel. This is located at one end of the buran channel where it intersects with the Sisters’ Fairway. Across the Buran channel is a green buoy corresponding to this red one. This red buoy flashes every two seconds and is visible from three Nautical Miles.”

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Sentosa Cove villa with ocean views

“The owner requested a house that celebrated the ocean views and uniqueness of Sentosa relative to the other ports which he also called home. They required a design that maximized the ocean views in every part of the house and devoted no resources to a basement or inwardly focused spaces.”

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Inspiration from the surroundings

“We began the design process by understanding the site and the imposing marine elements of Sentosa Cove. The massive stone embankments, marine industrial elements like port cranes, barges and the vulnerable marine life that struggles to survive beneath all the industry and trade. The red buoy in the ocean just in front of the site, that signifies the southernmost point of Singapore was a key reference that guided the design of a house as a beacon celebrating its views, place and time.”

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Designed by WOW Architects

The journey through this remarkable Sentosa Cove villa by WOW Architects begins at the driveway entrance, where visitors are greeted by an articulated stone wall with an onyx lantern hovering above. The main door is positioned to face west, giving the illusion of a seamless façade until you step inside and are greeted by the spectacular, panoramic ocean view.

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Partitioned rooms

“The massing of the house was developed into a shaded and layered box that hovers over a dramatic entertainment area set in a garden. The Living, Dining and Kitchen share one huge ocean view room which can be screened and partitioned with sliding panels that disappear within the furnishings. The pool and poolside terrace are an extension of the entertainment area complete with seating and ocean views.”

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Designed for tropical heat

“The bedrooms on the second storey are laid out in a masonry portal structure hovering over the entertainment areas on the ground floor. This double layer box, insulated from the heat of the east and west sun was designed to provide shade to the areas on the ground floor that were fully glazed and operable to allow for maximum connection and ocean views without direct sunlight during the hot hours of the day.”

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Glowing night beacon

“The massing of the bedroom level was cantilevered six meters toward the ocean culminating in a floor to ceiling reflective glass box that hovers over the pool foreshortening the distance to the sea to offer a more dynamic focus on the pool and the ocean view. For the street facing façade, a natural onyx curtain wall supported by a stainless steel frame was designed as a lantern or beacon to glow at night reminiscent of its place at the southern most point of Sentosa and Singapore.”

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Insulating aluminium screen

“The aluminum screen that provides a second insulating layer to the bedroom floor and privacy for the private garden within, was inspired by the baleen of a whale. Functioning as filter for heat and privacy, the screen functions in concert with the masonry wall and double glazed mirror glass curtain wall to minimize heat-gain during the day and reduce dependence on Air-conditioning through natural cross ventilation.”

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Rooftop home office

The top level houses the piece de resistance - a curving wave, stingray-inspired attic office with 180-degree ocean vistas that give the feeling of being on a cruise ship's bridge. It's from here that the owners run their global businesses, making this Sentosa Cove villa by WOW Architects a true maritime architectural marvel.

“Above the house, the roof shelters an attic beneath a curving wave inspired by the sinewy fins of a stingray. The roof vaults over the attic and curves down to ensure the street facing side of the house is clearly perceived as a two-storey house. Beneath the curving roof, services and amenities are tucked out of sight and naturally ventilated. The edges and gentle curves lend to its weightless appearance.”

“For the attic, the owners requested an office for both husband and wife to be able to work from home and make contact with their offices in San Francisco and Rotterdam. Offering a 180o view of the ocean, the attic would be the “Bridge” from which their business would be navigated around the globe. The cantilevered deck overlooking the ocean gives the sensory experience of being on the deck of a great ocean liner.”

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Greenery in Sentosa Cove

“The landscape design is a key conceptual driver of the project. Conceived as the principal element of the ground floor, into which the cool, shady living and dining areas are set, the landscape was perceived as part of the continuous green belt that weaves through the surrounding houses of Sentosa Cove.”

With its striking architecture celebrating the unique location and its owners' passion for maritime life, this breathtaking Sentosa Cove villa by WOW Architects truly makes the most of its million-dollar views. It's an ingenious modern take on oceanfront living.

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Photos and information courtesy of WOW Architects.