Antilia is a private home in the Mumbai City district of Mumbai, India. It is the residence of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani and his family, who moved into it in 2012; at 27-storeys, 173 metres tall, over 400,000 square feet, and with amenities such as three helipads, a 168-car garage, a ballroom, 80-seat theater, terrace gardens, spa, and a temple, the skyscraper-mansion is one of world's largest and most elaborate private homes. , it is valued at $2.2 billion, deemed to be the world's second most valuable residential property, after British crown propertyBuckingham Palace, and the world's most valuable private residence. Its controversial design and ostentatious use by a single family has made it infamous in India and beyond, including severe criticism in the architectural press and mockery in popular media. It is located on Altamount Road, Cumballa Hill in Mumbai.
Antilia started building in 2006 and was built in consultation with US architecture firms Perkins and Will & Hirsch Bedner Associates, with the Australian-based construction company Leighton Contractors initially taking charge of its construction. The construction was completed by B.E.Billimoria & Company Ltd. The home has 27 floors with extra-high ceilings. The home was also designed to survive an earthquake rated 8 on the Richter scale. It is considered by some to be the tallest single-family house in the world, but others disqualify the Antilia because it includes space for a staff of 600.
Controversies
The land on which Antilla was built housed an orphanage called Currimbhoy EbrahimKhoja Yateemkhana with 60 orphans, and belonged to a charity run by the Wakf board. The orphanage had been founded in 1895 by Currimbhoy Ebrahim, a wealthy shipowner. In 2005, this property was purchased by Muffin-Antilla Commercial Private Limited, a commercial entity controlled by Mukesh Ambani, from the Currimbhoy Ebrahim Khoja Trust, in direct contravention of § 51 of the Wakf Act. In 2002, the trust took permission from the charity commissioner to sell this land. The charity commissioner gave the required permission three months later. Section 51 of the Wakf act requires that any such sale of land should be done after the permission of the Maharashtra state board of wakfs. However this permission was not taken, a notice was sent to the orphanage, this was disputed by the orphanage trust and finally, the Wakf board and the orphanage came to an agreement. The sale proceeded and the building was built. However, a PIL was filed a decade later by Abdul Matin, against the orphanage and the Charity commissioners permission. The case remains in court is as of 2018, was still being heard by a special bench of the court. The 4532sqm plot of land had been previously owned by the Currimbhoy Ebrahim Khoja Yateemkhana. This charitable institution had sold the land allocated for the purpose of education of underprivileged Khoja children to Antilla Commercial Private Limited in July 2002 for. The prevailing market value of the land at the time was at least. The Waqf minister Nawab Malik opposed this land sale, as did the revenue department of the Government of Maharashtra. Thus a stay order was issued on the sale of the land. The Waqf board also initially opposed the deal and filed a PIL in the Supreme Court challenging the decision of the trust. The Supreme Court, while dismissing the petition, asked the Waqf board to approach the Bombay High Court. However, the stay on the deal was subsequently vacated after the Waqf board withdrew its objection on receiving an amount of from Antilla Commercial Pvt Ltd, and it issued a No Objection Certificate. In 2007 the Maharashtra state government said the structure is illegal because the land's owner, the Waqf Board, had no right to sell it, as Waqf property can neither be sold nor transferred. Ambani then obtained a No Objection Certificate from the Waqf Board after paying 1.6 million and began construction. In June 2011, the Union government asked the Maharashtra government to consider referring the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation. 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, following a representation from Awaaz Foundation, said the helipads violate local noise laws. Issues have also been raised with regards to the construction of an illegal car park. In 2011 it was reported that Ambani had yet to move into the home, despite its completion, for fear of "bad luck".
Cost and valuation
Antilia is the world's most expensive private home, costing approximately US$2 billion. Thomas Johnson, director of marketing at architecture firm Hirsch Bedner Associates told Forbes magazine the residence cost nearly $3 billion.
Public reception
former chairman Ratan Tata said Antilia is an example of rich Indians' lack of empathy for the poor. Tata 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." "It makes me wonder why someone would do that. That's what revolutions are made of."
