Set on a 1 acre plot, this North Goan Home inspired by Portuguese Architecture was built a century ago by the erudite Dr. Aquilino Almeida. He was a famous surgeon and doctor of Western India, having been well educated in Edinburgh. He had travelled the world on deputations across Africa, Middle East, Afghanistan. Being Royal Medical officer for more than 2 Indian princely states which included the State of Janjira and the Court of the Maharaja of Bikaner. The mansion is quite large and stately, spread over 8000 + square feet (without pool and gazebo). It has huge verandahs, 6 large bedrooms, dressing rooms, and intermittent spaces. Every room is different, every bathroom too, so it needs a fair number of pictures to tell the story.

Inspired By Portuguese Architecture, This Goan Home Was Built A Century Ago | The Verve Collective

The Original Home

The home overlooks expansive fields, and is set in the charming village of Guirim. The living area is massive, over 1000 square feet. In addition there is a large parlour, usually found in the homes of the elite, and used for balls. The lofty roof bears testament to its scale being 26ft high. The home is punctured with beautiful trefoil arches. The rooms are large and airy. Four bedrooms have beautiful mosaic, completely intact, and the parlour has patterned Belgian tiles. The walls have decorative lime plaster motifs around the doorways.

Restoration

Over the years, as the home passed from one owner to another, it was gradually neglected until it stood abandoned and derelict. When I saw it for the first time it looked gloomy, but every bit inspiring. I couldn’t wait to breathe life into it once more. Besides the flooring in some of the rooms, we had to renovate almost every aspect of the home. This included the roof, doors and windows, and strengthen the old masonry.

Approach and Interiors

My clients Rubeena and Vivek who had the great foresight to acquire this beautiful home, approached our firm. They came with a romantic and distinctively European outlook to the home they envisioned. European because it was most appropriate to the aesthetic the home exuded. They were also, like I was, keen to retain and restore as much of the old home as possible. One of our approaches was to custom design every part of the home. We wanted to stay away from ‘store bought’ products/flooring etc.

Living Dining Space

The flooring in the living–dining area was badly worn, prompting me to design an original mosaic pattern for this sweeping space. Crafted from tiny laser-cut hexagons, it gently complements the existing flooring while offering a contemporary contrast. For the two large verandahs, I created an original and complex pattern from diamond shaped stone, taking some inspiration from the red, yellow and black diamond shaped clay tiles that are common in Goan homes.

Bathrooms

The bathrooms have mosaics, or stone inlays, each being different from the other. In the spirit of conserving the home exactly as it was, we created all the bathrooms outside the original home leaving the original structure unaltered. An old well stood directly abutting the home, and the challenge was to build a bathroom precisely on that spot. Instead of filling the well, we retained it in the bathroom, with a tempered glass cover and lights! The home had lime plaster on the walls – a precious material that only gets better with age.

The Renovation

We carefully chipped off damaged plaster, and sourced and slaked our own lime for weeks, which we then applied to the damaged areas. Even where we created arches and lintels, they were from stone masonry, and not concrete. We also redid the entire roof with timber planks. The large arched metal and glass doors make for a unique feature, as does the loft library with its iron and wood staircase. The kitchen is warm and country inspired with a fire brick floor, and pleasant English cabinetry. 

Furniture and Artefacts

Every piece of furniture & lighting in the home is unique. Whether it be a Dutch Sri-Lankan rosewood diwan, an Italian Marelli Fan, a Capedimonte porcelain chandelier, brass lights from Portobello Road, or an intricately carved antique teak wood mirror. Each piece has been carefully curated, and then restored using appropriate techniques. My clients spent every weekend scouring antique shops, as did I whenever I could manage.

Where custom design was needed, I crafted unique pieces—like a curved teak-wood bar with leather fluting, French-inspired library units, and my own reinterpretation of the classic Chesterfield in grey suede.
One of my favourite elements in a home is creating a library, and it pleases me much to say that this home has three of them, peppered with books read by Vivek and the young avid reader, Valeska (daughter). The colour palette is carefully curated, with rich hues and layered textures bringing depth and warmth to every corner of the home.

The Art And Artefacts

To the great credit of my client Rubeena Singh, a most fascinating collection of art and artefacts she has sourced and curated, from her and Vivek’s travels around the world though the ‘The Verve Collective”. Silver plated platters, stunning botanicals, vintage prints, ceramics, and sculpture, to name a few.

Landscape and garden

The estate has substantial gardens, and green space. I engaged my friend and genius Waylon as I knew only he could do justice to such a place. The vision of the clients was to have the charm and romance of an English garden, and steer away from the ubiquitous tropical plants that one sees in almost every single project in Goa. This landscape was crafted using a mix of native and exotic plants, blending elements of Indo-Portuguese gardens with the wild character of Goan meadows and marshes. As a result, Verve Estate nurtures more than just its guests—the fountain, pond, native species, and food forest have become a thriving haven for birds, dragonflies, butterflies, and even frogs.

Site development and Pool area

We set the infinity edge pool on the side facing the fields. The large pool can be heated and features a swim-up bar, jacuzzi, and sunken bar for serving guests. A timber and cast-iron gazebo sits at its edge, extending toward the fields. Even for the road we stuck with natural materials as far as possible, using a herringbone brick pattern, outlined with grey stone. There is a large service block, with laundry rooms, staff kitchen, and bedrooms for 10 staff, including a lounge for the staff!

There is a lot of engineering at work in this home that one doesn’t see : heat pumps, pressurized systems, electrical distribution boards, sediment filters, voltage regulators, power back up, jacuzzis, etc. and there are three engineering rooms, neatly concealed. 

Fact File

Designed by: The Verve Collective

Project Type: Residential Architecture Design

Project Name: The Verve Estate

Location: Guirim, Bardez, Goa

Project Size: 10000 Sq.ft.

Principal Architect: Rubeena Singh

Photograph Courtesy: Fabien Charuau

Name of the Client: Rubeena Singh and Vivek Soni

Artefacts and art curation: Rubeena Singh & Verve Collective

Styling: Rubeena Singh & Ranji Kelekar

Landscape Design: Waylon D’Souza

Firm’s Instagram Link: The Verve Collective

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