At Dunearn House, the facilities are conceived as more than a collection of amenities. They form a landscape-led residential experience — one in which architecture, water, greenery and communal spaces are woven together to create what the design team describes as a “Living within Nature” home.
That philosophy is rooted in a nature-positive approach, with natural elements extending seamlessly into the interiors. The result is intended to express quiet luxury through design, sustainability, wellness and understated elegance.
Across the development, residents move through a sequence of distinct environments collectively envisioned as the “Journey of The Mirage Forest”: the Foyer of the Forest, Canopy Mirage, Canopy Pool, Forest Adventure Play, Tropical Wellness and Cascade Forest.
The Architect’s Inspiration: A Canopy of Memory
The architectural idea behind Dunearn House begins with the history of its wider Bukit Timah setting.
Dunearn House is positioned within the emerging Bukit Timah Turf City precinct and draws upon the area’s longstanding identity as a destination for recreation, social gathering and lifestyle experiences.
Most distinctive is the architect’s “Canopy of Memory” concept. The development’s roofline takes inspiration from the silhouette of Turf City’s historic North Grandstand. Rather than literally reproducing the structure, its profile is reinterpreted as a forest canopy—lifted above the development to shelter and visually unify the architecture while becoming a defining symbol of place.
It creates an intriguing dialogue between heritage and nature: the memory of the grandstand is translated into the language of a tree canopy.
This architectural gesture sits within a broader nature-positive concept. Dunearn House is envisioned as a place where architecture and landscape do not read as separate layers. Instead, greenery is drawn toward and into the buildings, reinforcing the project’s ambition to live within nature rather than simply look out at it.
ONG&ONG leads the project’s architectural vision, with Group CEO Ashvinkumar Kantilal shaping the architectural concept, while Ecoplan Asia, led by Managing Director Thanapong Gong, brings the landscape vision to life.
The Canopy Pool: The Social Heart of Dunearn House
One of the most visually striking facilities is the 50-metre lap pool, a substantial 400 sqm body of water framed by mature-looking tropical planting. Alongside it are the Main Pool Deck, lawn, Kids Pool and a steam room with shower.
Rather than presenting the pool as an exposed recreational deck, the landscape gives it the atmosphere of a secluded garden resort. Trees rise immediately alongside the water while dense planting softens the surrounding residential buildings.
The pool brings this vision to life, nestled within layers of lush tropical greenery, with reflections dancing across the water and shaded lounging areas creating a tranquil, resort-like retreat.
Overlooking this landscape is the Dunearn Club, accompanied by a gym and outdoor fitness area. The club interiors shown continue the same understated material palette — warm timber, muted natural tones and broad expanses of glazing that maintain a visual connection with the landscape outside.
It creates a setting equally suited to exercise, an afternoon beside the pool or simply retreating indoors while remaining connected to the greenery.
The Canopy Mirage: Where Architecture Almost Disappears
If the Canopy Pool represents the development’s more expansive resort experience, The Canopy Mirage explores something quieter.
The landscape concept describes this portion of Dunearn House as “architecture in disguise”, with a forest-inspired architectural language intended to emerge from its surrounding context.
The images make that concept tangible. Sheltered structures sit among mature trees and dense planting, while dark walls, water and restrained lighting recede visually into the landscape.
Facilities associated with this zone include the Mirage Walk, Dunearn Club, Kids Pool, Teppanyaki Pavilion and Outdoor Deck.
It is an environment designed less around architectural spectacle than discovery: paths, pavilions and gathering spaces appear gradually through the greenery.
The Tropical Wellness: A Retreat Within the Gardens
Wellness at Dunearn House has its own dedicated landscape.
The Tropical Wellness zone brings together a 150 sqm Wellness Pool, Wellness Pool Deck, Spa Seat and Wellness Lawn. Nearby are the Pinnacle Foyer, Pinnacle Living, Pinnacle Dining and Pinnacle Patio.
The setting feels deliberately intimate, where cascading water, sculptural dark walls and dense tropical planting come together to create secluded pockets for quiet relaxation away from the main pool.
The emphasis is consequently not simply on swimming. It is on restoration — spaces to sit beside water, decompress among greenery or spend time outdoors in a more private setting.
The Cascade Forest: Water as Landscape
Water becomes even more theatrical within The Cascade Forest.
The design concept combines a treetop walk, waterfalls, a hanging pavilion, the Waterfall Club, and a cascade forest landscape.
Here, the facilities are arranged across different elevations. The Waterfall Club contains a Residents’ Lounge, Meeting Room, Meeting Pods and a Servery, while its surrounding landscape includes the Waterfall Deck, Waterfall Lounge and Waterfall Pod. On the second storey, residents encounter the Waterfall Terrace, Waterfall Perch, Waterfall Dining, Canopy Trail, Canopy Pavilion and Canopy Deck.
This vertical arrangement is important to the experience. Rather than concentrating amenities on a conventional clubhouse floor, Dunearn House distributes places to meet, dine, work and relax through a layered landscape.
Indoor lounges flow seamlessly into lush gardens, while outdoor seating is framed by dramatic cascading water walls, allowing architecture to recede as water and greenery take centre stage.
A Forest Adventure for Younger Residents
The nature-led concept extends to children’s facilities.
Instead of relying on a single conventional playground, Dunearn House proposes a collection of play landscapes: the Play Garden Pavilion, Play Crawl & Jump Garden, Play Forest Adventure Garden, Play Spinning Garden and Play Swing Garden.
Play equipment is thoughtfully woven among mature-looking trees, lush tropical foliage and winding pathways, while a sheltered pavilion nearby offers a comfortable gathering space for families and caregivers.
The effect is closer to a woodland adventure garden than an isolated playground — allowing play, exploration and nature to overlap.
Spaces for Dining, Entertaining and Everyday Life
A notable strength of the facilities programme is the variety of spaces intended for different scales of gathering.
Residents have access to settings ranging from the Teppanyaki Pavilion and Outdoor Deck to Pinnacle Living, Pinnacle Dining and Pinnacle Patio, alongside the Waterfall Club’s residents’ lounge and meeting facilities.
The indoor facilities feature long communal dining tables, inviting lounge areas, thoughtfully integrated shelving and floor-to-ceiling glazing, creating warm, sophisticated spaces that feel like a natural extension of home.
This makes the clubhouse facilities an extension of the home — suitable for entertaining friends, holding a meeting, working away from one’s apartment or simply spending time with neighbours.
Fitness Beyond the Gym
The recreation programme extends beyond swimming and indoor fitness.
Alongside the gym and outdoor fitness facilities is a full tennis court measuring approximately 34.6m by 17.3m, while the landscape plan also provides extensive walking routes through the gardens.
Combined with the 50m lap pool, wellness pool, steam room and outdoor environments, this gives residents a broad spectrum of ways to stay active — from structured exercise to simply walking beneath the tree canopy.
One Landscape, Many Experiences
The breadth of Dunearn House’s facilities is considerable, but their number is not really the defining feature.
What distinguishes the concept is the way they have been organised into a continuous landscape journey.
The arrival becomes the Foyer of the Forest. The principal swimming landscape becomes the Canopy Pool. Recreation and gathering unfold through the Canopy Mirage. Children’s spaces become Forest Adventure Play. Rest and rejuvenation occupy Tropical Wellness. Dining, socialising, and contemplation are layered through the waterfalls and elevated gardens of the Cascade Forest.
Across the site plan, these experiences encompass everything from the 50m lap pool and wellness pool to clubhouses, lounges, dining facilities, play gardens, tennis, fitness spaces and elevated canopy amenities.
It ultimately brings the architectural and landscape ideas back to the same proposition: living within nature.
At Dunearn House, greenery is not intended merely to surround the residences. It threads between buildings, meets the interiors, frames the pools and communal rooms, and shapes how residents move from one facility to another.
And above it all is the project’s most symbolic architectural gesture — the roofline inspired by the North Grandstand, transformed into a new canopy of memory. It allows Dunearn House to acknowledge Turf City’s recreational heritage while giving that history a contemporary, nature-led expression.
Article contributed by Jerry Wong.
Jerry Wong is a realtor at Propnex Realty, bringing a rich background in interior and lighting design to his work. He loves exploring diverse spaces and observing the transformative power of real estate. Beyond his professional role, Jerry finds his greatest fulfillment in connecting people with the right properties, gaining immense satisfaction from helping clients achieve their dreams.
