$1 billion house being built - no joke

Here you go, something you can spend pip proceeds on: a $1 billion house, anyone?

From the good ol’ Huffington Post: What would you do if your net worth were $22 billion? If you were Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani, you might build yourself the world’s most expensive home.

As designed by Chicago architecture firm Perkins + Will, the in-progress glass-tower is estimated at $1 billion and is known to feature, at the least, a health club, multiple “safe” rooms, 3 helipads, 168 parking spaces and require 600 servants to maintain, and physically, the structure stands at 27 stories, or 570 feet tall.

 

 

My personal favorite comment is at the bottom of the article:

One would think that a billionaire may have read a newspaper and noticed there are people who could use a few bucks to get vaccinations for their kids. Or maybe that’s just me. Reply| posted 01:33 am on 02/21/2008

The Mumbai Mirror has the following on it:

Construction of Mukesh Ambani’s new house at Altamount Road, where real estate prices are now in the region of Rs 75,000 per sq ft, began in late 2006, and the first six floors are already in place now. The building is expected to be complete in September 2008.

27 Floors
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 floors for parking
The first six floors — which have come up — will be reserved for parking alone, and that too for cars belonging only to Mukesh’s family. Space for a total of 168 ‘imported’ cars has been earmarked here.

Floor for car maintenance
Sources said the Ambanis would prefer to have all their cars serviced and maintained at an in-house service centre. This centre will be set up on the seventh floor.

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

Balconies with gardens
The rooftop of the mini-theatre will serve as a garden, and immediately above that, three more balconies with terrace gardens will be independent floors.

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 have a health club complete with the latest gym equipment.

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
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.

However, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation officials told this paper that permission for the helipads has not been granted yet.

“The residential plans were approved three-four years ago. Two levels of basement have also been shown in the proposed project,” Sudhir Shinde, deputy engineer at the BMC’s building proposals department said.

Staff
Nearly 600 staffers are expected to work full-time in the building, sources said.

Total stats
According to BMC records, the total area of Mukesh’s Altamount Road plot is 4,532.39 square meters. The proposed built-up area is 4,778.09 square meters (only for residential purposes), and the permissible built-up area 4,939.81 square meters.