The Visionaire Review

The Visionaire’s showflat is located about a 15 minute walk away from its actual site at Wellington Circle, next to the HDB estate and surrounded by dense greenery. Looking more like a spaceship than a property showcase, The Visionaire showflat sets the stage early on for its inaugural venture into the smart home sphere.

Being built from the ground up to be connected to the Internet of Things (IoT) and having an exclusive app – HiLife – downloadable only by residents of The Visionaire, Qingjian is hoping that with the first ever Smart EC in Singapore, that other developers would follow suit. For that to happen, The Visionaire would need to succeed first. As it is, developing a smart home in Singapore is a risk Qingjian is taking so it is starting slow.

But introducing early adopters to the way of the future however is an exciting prospect and The Visionaire certainly does not lack in this area.

The Visionaire

And as it is impossible to discuss anything about The Visionaire without first talking about its smart features – both current and future – they will be discussed first.

There are several smart features that were shown but are actually unavailable for purchase as of yet. The tasks they can perform are quite impressive such as a Samsung Smart Fridge that actually tells you what groceries are low in quantity and prompts you through the app to order them online. So while it is normal to have reservations about relying on a piece of machinery constantly needing to be connected to the WIFI at home, its allure is hard to ignore. Fortunately, these products are a few years away so people have time to get accustomed to new technology.

Paving the way however, are the features that do come with the smart units. These are the IP camera, motion sensor and digital smart lock. The camera only shows the area around your door, not including your neighbours and it helps to keep you updated should anyone attempt to reach you while you are not home. Through the app, you can see who is at your door and use it to communicate with the person through the speakers built in the IP camera. With the app, the resident can then unlock the door and allow entry to the person when necessary.

This entire setup is powered by the IoT. The IoT can also be customised to welcome you and any other member of the household back, set air-con temperature to their preferred level, provide you with traffic news, allow a single click to turn on lights, pull curtains and even turn on the television. It can also be set to automatically turn off the lights in a room when you’re out of it after a period of time.

It is important to note also that while The Visionaire is being built to have smart features integrated into the units, future residents whom are not comfortable with this can opt to buy a regular non-smart unit.

As for the showunits, there were three on display. One is a showunit of the future and as such, this unit is not representable of the typical units in The Visionaire. The other two which will be, are.

3BR CoSpace (1,132 sqft)

Most living rooms are 3.6m long and 2m wide and in this 3BR unit, the scope of the size is apparent. There is a good amount of space here for a reasonably big couch and a large television.

3BR CoSpace dining area

There’s also space for a six-person dining table and a generous spot for a large fridge built in behind that, next to the built-in shelving and cabinets. Fair warning however that the area where the dining table sits will actually be an island counter so as to facilitate more efficient meal preparation.

3BR CoSpace island counter

Where the actual dining table will be set in a regular unit will be up to the resident.

Aside from that, a shoe cabinet is installed along the wall next to the main entrance. While simple, a shoe cabinet is a piece of furniture most developers often do not install for various reasons. If the space were small then a built-in cabinet may not be substantial but the one installed in the unit here is already rather big.

3BR CoSpace shoe cabinet

The shoe shelves are next to a storage cabinet and it helps that the allocated space for both are actually usable. That the cabinet is flushed with the wall when closed helps to keep things looking neat.

The kitchen is a closed one and it comes with a small service yard. The rest of the kitchen is compact but completely fitted with cabinets and appliances. No space is wasted as every part is utilized well. It may get crowded in the kitchen while cooking but it is sufficient for one person to be in it.

Also, 3BR kitchens come with a regular stove instead of an induction. A microwave oven is also provided.

3BR CoSpace kitchen

The only thing is that the fridge is located in the living room, behind the dining table so it may be inconvenient for the person to keep having to walk to and fro. Aside from that however, the kitchen is well made.

The CoSpace area is next to the kitchen and the showunit displays the possibilities. With that said, at the point of sale, the buyer can dictate if they want the walls removed so they have a bigger living room/dining area, or they can turn it into a maid’s room, a small study or whatever else they would want.

The Visionaire CoSpace

The CoSpace area is 600mm x 600mm and comes with the same laminate skirting for the floors. It also has its own wall mounted fan coil unit and a TV point, telephone/data point and switch socket outlets.

The bedrooms are fairly standard with the common rooms capable of fitting in a queen size bed. However, the trend these days is to customize beds and while that isn’t necessarily the best thing to do with kids as the bed will need to be rebuilt when they grow up, it does help with customising the space a bit more.

3BR CoSpace common bedroom

The master bedroom is as spacious as expected and comes with the requisite bathroom. One notable thing is that the master bathrooms are larger here because they are designed to be wheel-chair accessible.

The spaciousness is visibly obvious and the ease with which you can move around without accidently bumping into walls is a positive effect.

3BR CoSpace master bedroom

There’s going to be no huddling or cramping up in this bathroom, let alone the master bedroom that comes with its balcony.

3BR typical (1,023 sqft)

The big difference with this unit type is that it is a non-CoSpace unit. Without that extra room to customize, the layout is slightly different and the extra space is used to make the closed kitchen bigger.

3BR living and kitchen

While the living room is not as long or as wide as the CoSpace, it is still spacious. The brighter colours and neat layout augments the overall look, making the living area appear both commodious and clean. The added space for the kitchen also helps, though the kitchen is still narrow. However, in here, at least two people can be inside.

3BR kitchen

And as is the trend with Qingjian, the kitchen is also well-designed with a good mix of high and low cabinets installed. Like the CoSpace unit, the fridge will have its own space outside the kitchen and next to even more cabinets, including the shoe cabinet.

Overall, it’s not a bad design and the closeness of the fridge to the entrance of the kitchen at least makes retrieving food from the fridge more accessible.

3BR dining area

As for the rooms, they’re similar with the CoSpace units. All regular rooms can take in a queen size bed. The master bedroom can take in a king size as the balcony access helps to give the room more space to play with.

3BR master bedroom and attached bathroom

The attached bathroom is as wheel-chair friendly as the others and the layout of the bathroom is certainly good. This seems to be a hallmark of Qingjian as their bathrooms are some of the most spacious and well-designed spaces in a development.

3BR master bathroom

The showunits represent typical units and the smart features are subtle enough to not be noticed. But these things will be present should the buyer choose them and their inclusion will likely change how the unit will feel at present and in the future.