Antilia (building)
| Antilia |
Antilia as seen from Altamont Road |
| General information |
| Status |
Completed[1] |
| Type |
Personal Residential |
| Location |
Altamont Road, South Mumbai |
| Coordinates |
|
| Construction started |
2007 |
| Completed |
2010 |
| Opening |
28 Oct 2010 |
| Height |
| Roof |
173 metres (568 ft)[2] |
| Technical details |
| Floor count |
27 (equivalent to 60 floors tower)[3] |
| Design and construction |
| Owner |
Mukesh Ambani |
| Main contractor |
Leighton Holdings |
| Architect |
Perkins & Will |
| Structural engineer |
Sterling Engineering Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. |
Antilia is the name of a twenty-seven floor personal home in South Mumbai belonging to businessman Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire Chairman of Reliance Industries.[4] There will be 600 full-time staff to maintain the residence, which was reported in the Indian Media to be the most expensive home in the world.[5] It has been described as the "Taj Mahal of 21st century India"[6][7]
The home will house Ambani, wife Nita, their three children and Ambani's mother.[8]
Name and Location
Antilia is named after the mythical island in the Atlantic, Antillia.
The Antilia building is situated on a 4,532 square metres (48,780 sq ft) plot at Altamont Road, Cumballa Hill, South Mumbai, where land prices are upward of US$10,000 per square metre.[9][10]
In August 2008, Altamont Road was the 10th most expensive street in the world at US$25,000/sq m[11] (US$2,336 per sq foot)[12]
Specifications
The structure was designed by U.S. architects using principles of Vaastu Shastra to maximize "positive energy". No two floor plans are alike, and the materials used in each level vary widely.[8]
The home will include:
- 400,000 square feet (37,000 m2) of living space.[8]
- parking space for 168 cars.[8]
- a one-floor vehicle maintenance facility.
- nine elevators in the lobby.[5]
- three helipads and an air traffic control facility.[13]
- health spa, yoga studio, small theatre with a seating capacity for 50 on the eighth floor,[14] multiple swimming pools, three floors of hanging gardens, and a ballroom.[8]
- an ice room infused with man-made snow flurries.[8]
Construction
Antilia was designed by Chicago based architects, Perkins & Will. The Melbourne-based construction company Leighton Holdings began constructing it[15] . The home was also designed to survive an 8-richter scale earthquake.[16]
Controversies
Various construction controversies have been connected to the home.
In 2002, Mukesh purchased the property.[17]
In 2007 the Maharashtra government said the structure is illegal because the land's owner, the Waqf Board, had no right to sell it.[5] Mukesh then obtained a No Objection Certificate from the Waqf Board for Rs 1.6 million (U$36,100) and began construction.[5] In June 2011, the Union government asked the Maharashtra government to consider referring the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation.[18]
In regards to the three helipads, the Indian Navy said it will not allow the construction of helipads on Mumbai buildings, while the Environment Ministry said the helipads violate local noise laws.[5]
Cost and valuation
Indian media frequently reported that Antilia is the world's most expensive home costing US$2 billion.[12][19][20]
Thomas Johnson, director of marketing at architecture firm Will and Hirsch Bedner Associates that was consulted with by Reliance during building floor plan design, was cited by Forbes Magazine as estimating the cost of the residence at nearly $2 billion.[21]
In June 2008, a Reliance spokesman told the New York Times that it will cost $50–$70 million to build.[22]
Upon completion in 2010, media reports again speculated that, due to increasing land prices in the area, the tower may now be worth as much as US$1 billion.[23][24][25]
Public reception
| “ |
It's a stupendous show of wealth, it's kind of positioning business tycoons as the new maharajah of India. |
” |
| |
|
Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata has described Antilia as an example of rich Indians' lack of empathy for the poor.[26] Tata also said: "The person who lives in there should be concerned about what he sees around him and [asking] can he make a difference. If he is not, then it's sad because this country needs people to allocate some of their enormous wealth to finding ways of mitigating the hardship that people have."
Some Indians are proud of the "ostentatious house," while others see it as "shameful in a nation where many children go hungry."[8] Dipankar Gupta, a sociologist at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, opined that "such wealth can be inconceivable" not only in Mumbai, "home to some of Asia's worst slums," but also in a nation with 42 percent of the world's underweight children younger than five.[8] Recently Ratan Tata said that "It's sad Mukesh Ambani lives in such opulence".
References
- ^ Reeba Zachariah, TNN, Oct 13, 2010, 01.23am IST (2010-10-13). "Mukesh ready to move into mansion in the sky - The Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Mukesh-ready-to-move-into-mansion-in-the-sky/articleshow/6738598.cms. Retrieved 2010-10-13.
- ^ Emporis GmbH. "Residence Antilia, Mumbai, India". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=building&lng=3&id=301023. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ "Personal Green Skyscrapers - The 60 Story Antilia House (GALLERY)". Trendhunter.com. http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/indias-mukesh-ambani-building-60-storey-residential-skyscraper-mansion. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ "A peek into Mukesh Ambani's $2 hundred million Mumbai home". Rediff.com. http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/may/01reliance.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ a b c d e Headlines Today Bureau. "Mukesh Ambani all set to move into world's costliest house: India : India Today". Indiatoday.intoday.in. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/116301/LATEST%20HEADLINES/mukesh-ambani-all-set-to-move-into-worlds-costliest-house.html. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
- ^ "BBC News - India's Ambani hosts party for 'world's priciest home'". Bbc.co.uk. 2010-11-27. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11854177. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
- ^ Shobhaa De, Nov 27, 2010, 01.41am IST. "New Ambani home opens doors, and how - The Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/New-Ambani-home-opens-doors-and-how/articleshow/6998028.cms. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Mumbai Billionaire's Home Boasts 27 Floors, Ocean and Slum Views by Mark Magnier, Los Angeles Times, October 24, 2010
- ^ "Inside The World's First Billion-Dollar Home". Forbes. 2008-04-30. http://www.forbes.com/2008/04/30/home-india-billion-forbeslife-cx_mw_0430realestate.html. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
- ^ Woolsey, Matt (2008-05-01). "A peek into Mukesh Ambani's $2 bn Mumbai home". New York, NY: ReDiff via Forbes. http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/may/01reliance.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
- ^ Frank, Robert (2008-08-05). "The 10 Most Expensive Streets in the World - The Wealth Report - WSJ". Blogs.wsj.com. http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2008/08/05/the-10-most-expensive-streets-in-the-world/. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
- ^ a b "Mittal's address more expensive than Ambani's - Money - DNA". Dnaindia.com. 2008-08-04. http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_mittal-s-address-more-expensive-than-ambani-s_1181537. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
- ^ "Mukesh Ambani’s new house – Antilla". aavaas. http://aavaas.com/2007/11/04/mukesh-ambanis-new-house-anthill. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ "Antilia the classiest residence for the richest Indian". Luxurylaunches.com. 2007-05-30. http://www.luxurylaunches.com/real_estate/antilia_the_classiest_residence_for_the_richest_indian.php. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ "Oh brother, spare me the time - World". smh.com.au. 2008-08-02. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/08/01/1217097529489.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2. Retrieved 2010-10-13.
- ^ Kwek, Glenda (2010-10-15). "India's richest man builds first $1-billion home, Antilia, Ambani". Melbourne: Theage.com.au. http://www.theage.com.au/executive-style/luxury/indias-richest-man-builds-worlds-first-billiondollar-home-20101015-16mrg.html. Retrieved 2010-10-28.
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://in.finance.yahoo.com/news/Ambani-dream-house-stands-yahoofinancein-2253320233.html
- ^ "Indian industrialist to build US$2 billion "home" amidst Mumbai’s multimillion slum-dwellers". Asian Tribune. 2007-06-07. http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/6043. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
- ^ "Mukesh Ambani's new abode worth billion - Business News - IBNLive". Ibnlive.in.com. 2010-02-03. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/mukesh-ambanis-new-abode-27story-tall-worth-2-bn/64347-7.html. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
- ^ "Inside The World's First Billion-Dollar Home". Forbes.com. 2008-04-30. http://www.forbes.com/2008/04/30/home-india-billion-forbeslife-cx_mw_0430realestate.html. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
- ^ Giridharadas, Anand (2008-06-15). "Indian to the Core, and an Oligarch". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/business/worldbusiness/15ambani.html?_r=1.
- ^ "Man Builds Himself a Billion Dollar Home". Mumbai, India: ABC News. 2008-01-29. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/GadgetGuide/Story?id=4150486&page=1. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
- ^ Woolsey, Matt (2008-05-01). "Mukesh Ambani's US$2 billion home world's most expensive". New York, NY: Times of India via Forbes. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3002586.cms. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
- ^ Chandrashekhar. "Mukesh Ambani Mansion In The Sky". Mumbai, India: Oneindia.in. http://living.oneindia.in/insync/pulse/2008/mukesh-ambani-house-020508.html. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
- ^ "'Antilla', Mukesh Ambani's house, shows lack of empathy for poor: Ratan Tata". The Times Of India. 22 May 2011. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Antilla-Mukesh-Ambanis-house-shows-lack-of-empathy-for-poor-Ratan-Tata/articleshow/8506287.cms. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
External links