A Look at $ 2 Billion Ambani Home

Move over Taj Mehal here comes the Ambani home. Mukesh Ambani is going to move into world's most expensive home ever built. Total cost is $ 2 Billion (Rs. 8000 crore), but I guess if your net worth is close to $50 billion you can afford a $ 2 billion house.

Like many families with the means to do so, the Ambanis wanted to build a custom home. They consulted with architecture firms Perkins + Will and Hirsch Bedner Associates, the designers behind the Mandarin Oriental, based in Dallas and Los Angeles, respectively.
Plans were then drawn up for what will be the world's largest and most expensive home: a 27-story skyscraper in downtown Mumbai(incidently real estate prices in Mumbai are highest in the world) with a cost nearing $2 billion.

The only remotely comparable high-rise property currently on the market is the $70 million triplex penthouse at the Pierre Hotel in New York, designed to resemble a French chateau, and climbing 525 feet in the air. When the Ambani residence is finished in January, completing a four-year process, it will be 550 feet high with 400,000 square feet of interior space.

The $2 Billion home will cost more than a hotel or high-rise of similar size because of its custom measurements and fittings.


In the $2 billion Ambani home, called Antilla, no two floors are alike in either plans or materials used. At the request of Nita Ambani, say the designers, if a metal, wood or crystal is part of the ninth-floor design, it shouldn't be used on the eleventh floor, for example. The idea is to blend styles and architectural elements so spaces give the feel of consistency, but without repetition.

Antilla's shape is based on Vaastu, an Indian tradition much like Feng Shui that is said to move energy beneficially through the building by strategically placing materials, rooms and objects.



According to the plan, the house will rise to a height of 173.12 meters, equivalent to that of a regular 60-storeyed residential building. However, Antilia will have only 27 storeys in all, which means each floor will have a ceiling considerably higher than the current average of nearly three meters.

Six floor car parking

The first six floors will be reserved for parking alone, and that too for cars belonging only to Mukesh’s family. Space for a total of 168 cars has been earmarked here.

Entertainment floor

The eighth floor will have an entertainment centre comprising a mini-theatre with a seating capacity of 50.


The Health floors

While the ninth floor will a ‘refuge’ floor - meant to be used for rescue in emergencies - two floors above that will be set aside for ‘health.’ One of these will have facilities for athletics and a swimming pool, while the other will be complete with the latest gym equipment.Local plants decorate the outdoor patio near the swimming pool and yoga studio.

For guests

There will be a two-storeyed glass-fronted apartment for the Ambani family’s guests above the health floors. One more refuge floor and one floor for mechanical works will be built on top of these apartments.

Family Floors

The four floors at the top, that will provide a view of the Arabian Sea and a superb view of the city’s skyline, will be for Mukesh, his wife Neeta, their three children and Mukesh’s mother Kokilaben.

Air space floor

According to the plan, two floors above the family’s residence will be set aside as maintenance areas, and on top of that will be an “air space floor,” which will act as a control room for helicopters landing on the helipad above.

Helipad

The plan states that three helipads are to be built on the terrace.

Ice Room

The floor also features an ice room where residents and guests can escape the Mumbai heat to a small, cooled chamber dusted by man-made snow flurries.

Gardens

For more temperate days, the family will enjoy a four-story open garden. In profile, the rebar-enforced beams form a "W" shape that supports the upper two-thirds of the building while creating an open-air atrium of gardens, flowers and lawns. Gardens, whether hanging hydroponic plants, or fixed trees, are a critical part of the building's exterior adornment but also serve a purpose: The plants act as an energy-saving device by absorbing sunlight, thus deflecting it from the living spaces and making it easier to keep the interior cool in summer and warm in winter. An internal core space on the garden level contains entertaining rooms and balconies that clear the tree line and offer views of downtown Mumbai.


The 27-story skyscraper being built in Mumbai by Mukesh Ambani could be the world's largest and costliest home with a price- tag nearing two billion dollar, according to Forbes magazine.

Where possible, the designers say, whether it's for the silver railings, crystal chandeliers, woven area rugs or steel support beams, the Ambanis are using Indian companies, contractors, craftsmen and materials firms. Elements of Indian culture juxtapose newer designs. For example, the sinks in a lounge extending off the entertainment level, which features a movie theater and wine room, are shaped like ginkgo leaves (native to India) with the stem extending to the faucet to guide the water into the basin.

Now Mumbai will have a new Land mark thanks to Mukesh and Nita Ambani