World No 1 Expensive House

Antilia (building)

In Mumbai, India's billionaires row, there is a private home called Antilia. It is named for the fabled island Antillia. Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani and his family moved there in 2012, making it their home. At 27 stories, 173 metres (568 feet) tall, over 37,000 square metres (400,000 square feet), and with amenities like a 168-car garage, a ballroom, 9 high-speed elevators, a 50-seat theatre, terrace gardens, a swimming pool, spa, health centre, a temple, and a snow room that spits out snowflakes from the walls, the skyscraper-mansion is one of the largest and most elaborate private homes in the world.

General information

Statuss:Completed

Location: Cumballa Hill, Altamount Road, Mumbai, India

Finished in 2010; first opened in 2010; costing US$1.0–$2.0 billion[2]

Owner: Mukesh Ambani

Hight: 173 metres tall (568 ft)

Floor number: 27

Lifts/elevators: 10

Leighton Asia, the primary contractor, and structural engineer Sterling Engineering Consulting Services (Mumbai)

The lotus and the sun have been included into Antilia's architectural layout. The exclusive full-floor residential section is located on the top six floors of the building. Moreover, an earthquake of magnitude 8 can be withstood by it.

Design and construction

Its construction cost between US$1 billion and US$2 billion, making it the most expensive private residence in the world as of 2014.

Perkins & Will,a Chicago-based architectural firm, and Hirsch Bedner Associates, a Los Angeles-based architectural firm, collaborated to create the structure. Once Nita Dalal Ambani was captivated by the modern Asian interiors of the Mandarin Oriental in New York, which were also created by them, they were contacted.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation approved the building plan in 2003, and work on it began in 2006 with Leighton Asia in charge. B. E. Billimoria & Company Ltd. then finished it.

As the building's construction went forward, the architects made adjustments to the floor plans and architectural ideas. 27 storeys of the house have exceptionally high ceilings.

(Other structures of comparable height could have up to 60 floors.) [29] Also, the house was built to withstand an 8-magnitude earthquake. It is believed by some to be the tallest single-family mansion in the world, but others exclude the Antilia since it includes accommodation for a staff of 600.

The lotus and sun shapes are included into the interior design. By the use of crystals, marble, and mother-of-pearl, these two qualities are repeated throughout the entire structure. The objective of the design is consistency, although there is no repetition; however, no two floors are constructed using the same materials or layout.

One helipad is present in the structure, although it is not in use. The Director-General of Civil Aviation must certify the helipads as airworthy (DGCA), and yet need the central defence and environment ministries' clearance.

Ambani did not move into the home right away out of fear of "bad luck" even though the house warming was completed in November 2010.

The Ambanis moved in in September 2011 after over 50 eminent pandits were called to perform pujas and rectify vastu concerns in the structure in June 2011.

Cost and valuation

The property and unfinished mansion were valued at more than US$1.2 billion before building began. The mansion was anticipated to be the largest and most costly residence in the world, costing roughly US$2 billion.

It is regarded as the most costly private residence in the world as of 2014.

Incidents

The ninth storey experienced a fire on July 10, 2017, but it was quickly put out. Within 10 minutes of receiving the call, six fire trucks arrived at the structure. But before the fire brigade team came, Antilia workers put out the fire with a short line of fixed firefighting equipment and fire extinguishers. The 4G antenna and plastic vertical garden framing were the only things that caught fire.

A car with 20 explosive gelatin sticks inside and a letter threatening the Ambanis was discovered close to Antilia on February 25, 2021. The vehicle was parked on Carmichael Road, which borders Altamount Road, about 400 metres from the structure. A police control room call was made by a security guard at Antilia relating The police and the explosives detection and disposal team hurried to the scene after seeing the suspicious car. The bomb squad removed the gelatin sticks after the sniffer dogs picked up on explosives, only to discover that they were incomplete, lacking a battery, and a detonator. Sachin Vaze, the chief of Mumbai's crime intelligence unit, oversaw the investigation. The National Investigation Agency was given the case, and after learning that Vaze was directly involved in the incident, they arrested him.

Public reception

Ratan Tata, a former chairman of the Tata Group, claimed Antilia is an illustration of the rich Indians' lack of compassion for the underprivileged. The resident should be concerned about the world around him and inquire as to how he may change it, according to Tata. If he is unable to, it is unfortunate because this nation needs people to devote some of their immense fortune to figuring out how to lessen the suffering that people experience. I'm baffled as to why somebody would act in that manner. That is the stuff that makes revolutions.