Villa Jugendstil
THE CHALLENGE
A complete landscape rework for a Jugendstil-style villa, designed around a homeowner with a professional swimming background, where the rear garden had to function as a serious training environment and a resort-grade entertaining space without compromise to either.
THE SOLUTION
A 20-metre lap pool was set as the spatial anchor of the entire landscape, oriented along the longest axis of the rear garden to deliver uninterrupted swim length and a clean visual line from the villa’s main reception rooms straight through to the back boundary. A raised spa was integrated at the villa-end of the pool with infinity overflow into the main basin, giving the homeowner a recovery zone within arm’s reach of the lap lane. Sculptural blackened-steel leaf canopies were custom-fabricated as the project’s signature water feature, each one engineered to deliver a curtain of rainfall into the pool in a rhythm that mirrors the curves of the original villa’s Jugendstil ironwork. A separate sunken lounge with a central fire feature was set into the pool deck, recessed below the main entertaining level so the social and athletic zone separate independently of each other. Two perforated metal pergolas with custom floral cutouts cast a continuously shifting shadow play onto the marble paving below, with integrated LED strips along the structural ribs for evening use. The outdoor kitchen and grilling station were finished in book-matched onyx with brushed stainless inserts to anchor the entertaining terrace. The front approach was redesigned with a sweeping ribbon pattern of inset turf and porcelain that runs from the gate to the front door, breaking the formality of the original villa elevation with a softer arrival sequence. A symmetrical front garden composed around a centerpiece olive tree and a shallow black-stone water trough
sets the formal tone before the villa proper, while a fully integrated landscape lighting system shifts the entire garden from daytime resort to evening theatre at a single switch. The original architectural design with its profusion of arches was given a sleek, streamlined makeover with the façade reclad in a modern style, balconies added for balance, windows enlarged, and the door extended to double height. A customized ducting system featuring a curved modular design provided welcome ceiling height, while entryway structural columns were elevated with sculptural detail and subtle lighting effects. Clean minimalism paired with luxury was the foundation of the interiors brief, with white walls a specific client request, to gallery spotlight his personal art collection. The chosen monochrome colour palette was layered with colour as seen in the various artworks, antique carpets, and select furniture pieces. A dedicated library-cum-cigar room with a contemporary-retro feel ticks the boxes as an ultra-personal relaxation space.
INSIDER INSIGHT
The lap pool was engineered to professional training depth and gutter specification, allowing the homeowner to maintain a competitive swim routine without leaving home.
The leaf-form water sculptures were custom-cast in blackened steel and individually tuned so the rain curtain falls in a consistent pattern regardless of wind direction, a detail that took three rounds of prototyping to land.
The perforated pergola canopies were laser-cut from a single pattern derived from the villa’s original Jugendstil railing motifs, carrying the architectural language of the house into the landscape so the garden reads as part of the villa rather than added on.
The sunken fire-pit lounge sits one full step below the main pool deck, deliberately set lower so that conversations stay contained inside the space and do not carry across the open water.
A vertical green wall was installed along the side service corridor to soften what is normally the least-considered part of any villa property, turning a back-of-house pathway into a planted reveal between the front and rear gardens.
Every plant in the rear garden was selected to tolerate the chlorine micro-spray from the pool and the salt content of the UAE water table, so the landscape continues to mature for years rather than needing seasonal replacement.
