The pentacoordinated terpyridine-phenanthroline zinc(II) complex motif, conceived along the HETTAP concept, allows the preparation of a set of multicomponent supramolecular dumbbell and clip assemblies from various bisterpyridines. All assemblies show a notable luminescence at 350 -400 nm. The formation of dumbbell [Zn-2(1b)(2)( 2b)](4+) is convincingly demonstrated from the X-ray crystal structure analysis. Both dumbbell [Zn-2(1b)(2)(2b)](4+) and clip [Zn-2(1d)(2b)](4+) allow the monitoring of Hg2+ ions due to highly selective quenching of the emission that is driven by a Zn2+ -> Hg2+ exchange process, while the more-strained clip [Zn-2(1d)(2c)](4+) does not undergo such metal exchange and does not show quenching of the luminescence. Consequently, these assemblies exhibit a highly selective response due solely to supramolecular effects.