About Nico van der Meulen Architect Firm
Nico van der Meulen Architects in Johannesburg, South Africa, is well known for designing ultra-luxury dream homes all around the world.
The architectural firm focuses on designing innovative, functional luxurious homes, both contemporary and traditional, tailored to enrich their client’s quality of life.
The studio remains at the forefront of design by exploring new forms, pushing the boundaries and evolving with technology, without compromising on the authenticity of the design, aesthetics, materials and originality.
While creating unique homes for unique tastes, they firm strive to capture every client’s vision and express it through breath-taking bespoke designs.
They have designed more than 4000 buildings in 43 countries during the past forty years, many of which received international acclaim, some as far afield as USA, London, Cypress, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Canada, USA, Germany, Gulf of Portugal, Australia and many African countries.
More than 230 buildings designed by Nico van der Meulen and his team of architects have featured in magazines, hardcover books and have also been used on the front cover image for many magazines.
Nico van der Meulen has also written articles for several local and international magazines.
Values and Philosophy
“In architecture, functionality should always be given higher priority than the form, considering we spend our entire lives inhabiting the structures we’ve designed, rather than admiring their external appearances. Functionalism is our design philosophy and while our facades could have any form and be associated with any style, our buildings will always remain functional.” _Nico van der Meulen
Their carefully considered approach to design and commitment to meeting the requirements of individual clients has led to the firm gaining a reputation for creating exclusive, luxurious designs from the ground up or transforming existing residences into inventive and extraordinary homes, tailored to the tastes and needs of its clients.
Our Mission
Through timeless design, strive to enhance the environment, our clients’ lifestyle and the way we use buildings relative to the contextual landscape.
The innovative architectural vision of the Nico van der Meulen Architects brand is evident in the firm’s ability to continuously produce masterpieces of extraordinary architecture that is always personalized with the client’s lifestyle requirements.
The studio lives and breathes the conviction of a total design philosophy, creating a seamless transition between the exterior and the interior, reducing the scale to finer detail.
This resulted in M Square Lifestyle Design and M Square Lifestyle Necessities companies being established in association with Nico van der Meulen Architects.
M Square Lifestyle Design is an interior design division creating bold design solutions, while M Square Lifestyle Necessities is luxury furniture and décor service with a selection of the finest imported furniture from design studios around the world.
The combination of all three companies’ expertise inspires the architecture of living spaces.
As architects and interior designers the firm specialize in designing high-end residential and exclusive commercial developments for private individuals and companies.
In excess of 230 buildings designed by Nico van der Meulen and his team of architects have featured in magazines, hardcover books and have also been used on the front cover image for many magazines.
Nico van der Meulen has also written articles for several local and international magazines.
The innovative architectural vision of the Nico van der Meulen Architects brand is evident in the practice’s ability to continuously produce masterpieces of extraordinary architecture that is always personalized with the client’s lifestyle requirements.
Together with a team of talented and enthusiastic architects, interior designers and experienced support staff, the family run business has grown into an internationally recognized quality brand. While creating unique homes for unique tastes, the firm strives to capture every client’s vision and express it through breathtaking bespoke designs.
We followed Nico van der Meulen Architects for a while and loved their work and when the time came for us to build our dream home, there was no better architect to execute our vision than this family. Working with the NVDM team has been an absolute delight. Over the past few years, the level of attentiveness and support we received from every member of the NVDM and M Square team has not changed from the start. The commitment and passion of every member of this team are unmatched making one feel like their only client… This level of dedication and communication really made us feel valued because often professionals have their vision and find it hard to incorporate what the clients have envisioned also. This was never an issue with us and the NVDM team as we would always look forward to each meeting. Looking back now after having completed the project, with a few challenges along the way, we are grateful we had the NVDM team with us all the way. If we are to build a masterpiece again, we would appoint NVDM Architects to manage the new project.
From the very first day we met with Nico, he was pleasant and always has a way of making people feel comfortable around him with his sense of humor and interesting lessons learned in running such a successful business for so many years. We discussed what we wanted, and he articulated it so well on the plan that we were convinced that we have chosen the best team. The design of the plan took roughly a year to complete and every fortnight, Mr. Nico VD Meulen and /or his son Werner would always be there to meet with us to discuss our ever-evolving design. This level of dedication and communication really made us feel valued because often professionals have their vision and find it hard to incorporate what the clients have envisioned also. This was never an issue with us and the NVDM team as we would always look forward to each meeting.
Looking back now after having completed the project, with a few challenges along the way, we are grateful we had the NVDM team with us all the way. If we are to build a masterpiece again, we would appoint Nico van der Meulen Architects to manage the new project.
“Thinking back to when we first decided to renovate our home in Louis Trichardt, we had the daunting aspect of finding the right architects who understood our needs and requirements, and who offered superior service, as well as after service.
We were lucky to find your company. We love what you made of our home and it turned out to be much more than we expected. You and Werner made it look so easy. Thank you for standing by us and making it a good experience for our whole family. We plan to live in this home for many years to come, but should we ever need to build or renovate another home, we will certainly be back.”
“We cannot praise Nico van der Meulen Architects enough. They are a truly professional team that was dedicated, competent and experienced. They anticipated our needs at every step of a memorable project. We enjoyed the whole experience and would highly recommend them.”
Family and Team History
The architectural practice was established in 1984 by the owner and founder Nico van der Meulen and his wife Santa. Nico grew up on a farm near the border between South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe, He initially studied civil engineering, explored project management, and finally registered as a professional Architect. Nico also received a SAPSA Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Architecture.
Under Nico’s guidance and with his two sons following in his footsteps and joining him, the firm has grown into a family legacy. Each member of the family has established their own reputations within the design industry for their talents in architecture, interior design, decor and art.
Whilst the architectural and interior design projects are managed by Nico, Werner, Margot and the Associates. The Associates of Nico van der Meulen Architects and M Square Lifestyle Design include: Michael Antonie Zietsman, Chris Clarke, Justin Coetzee and Melanie Ezzi. Santa together with Rudolph started M Square Lifestyle Necessities, a décor and design showroom specializing in international brands including DOCA, Porro, Alivar, Desalto, Gloster, Lema, Limited Edition, Living Divani, Pallucco, Roda, Viccarbe, Zanotta, and ZeusNoto. Santa, an artist in her own right, is behind most of the captivating paintings featured in the luxury residences, including the sculptures by Regardt, another of the couple’s sons.
Together with a team of talented and enthusiastic associates, architects, designers and experienced support staff, the family-run business has grown into an internationally recognized quality brand.
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