Soaring high above Mumbai, India, a billion-dollar home, an oasis of ultimate luxury is being built for the world's fourth-richest man, writes Matt Woolsey

With a net worth of 62 billion dollars, Indian business tycoon Mukesh Ambani is ranked behind Mexican Carlos Slim Helu and America’s Bill Gates and Warren Buffett as the world’s richest man.

But according to a forecast by the prestigious Forbes magazine, head of India-based petrochemical giant Reliance Industries is set to be richest man on earth come 2014.

The 53-year old is married to Nita Ambani, who looks after the social and charitable arm of Reliance Industries. They have three children: Akash, Isha and Anant.

While visiting New York in 2005, Nita was in the spa at the Mandarin Oriental New York, overlooking Central Park. The contemporary Asian interiors struck her just so and prompted her to inquire about the designer.

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 soon be the world’s largest and most expensive home: a 27-storey skyscraper in downtown Mumbai with a cost nearing $2 billion.

Anyone wishing to cast their eyes upon Mukesh Ambani’s new house will very quickly find themselves with a stiff neck.

Most expensive house

The 27-storey tower soars huge and prominent amid the greenery and quiet of the expensive Mumbai suburb of Malabar Hill. Abuzz with the noise of cranes and shouts of helmeted workmen, it is a human ants’ nest of activity, set vertical amid the skyline of this booming city.

Luxurious

The home will cost more than a hotel or high-rise of similar size because of its custom measurements and fittings. The Ambani home, called Antilla, differs in that 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.

Atop six stories of parking lots, Antilla’s living quarters begin at a lobby with nine elevators, as well as several storage rooms and lounges.

Down the dual stairways with silver-covered railings is a large ballroom that features a retractable showcase for pieces of art, a mount of LCD monitors and embedded speakers, as well as stages for entertainment.

The hall opens to an indoor/outdoor bar, green rooms, powder rooms and allows access to a nearby “entourage room” for security guards and assistants to relax.

On the health level, local plants decorate the outdoor patio near the swimming pool and yoga studio.

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.

For more temperate days, the family will enjoy a four-storey 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. An internal core space on the garden level contains entertaining rooms and balconies that clear the tree line and offer views of downtown Mumbai.

Lobby

Nine elevators dot the lobby floor: Two are designated for parking areas, three for guest quarters, two for the Ambani family residences and two for service. The lobby opens to numerous lounges, reception areas and powder rooms. Dual stairways lead from the lobby floor down to the ballroom, which is designed in an open layout with a two-story roof.

Ballroom

The most striking features of the Antilla ballroom are the crystal chandeliers that will take up approximately 80 per cent of the ceiling. There is also a stage for entertainment or speeches, with a projection screen behind it. A kitchen, about the same size as the ballroom itself, can service hundreds of guests.

Bathroom

One of Antilla’s key design themes is the mix of lavish features seen in worldwide homes and elements that are distinctly Indian. The Gingko-leaf sink designs are a good example. Native to India, the leaves in the sinks are shaped in such a way that their stems guide water into the bowl created by the basket of the leaf.

Lounges

Ambani’s home features countless lounges, offering Reliance Industries guests a quiet escape. Chandeliers and mirrors are a common feature of these rooms, as are finely woven Indian area rugs.

Each space and floor uses materials not seen anywhere else.

The ballroom with crystal chandeliers covering the ceiling.

The idea is spaces will blend into one another, giving the impression of consistency and flow, while at the same time displaying different influences and traditions. This furniture, floors, lines and dark woods of this lounge have a more minimalistic approach than the home’s other lounges.

Entertainment level

The eighth floor will have an entertainment centre comprising a mini-theatre. It’s very common in large homes to have a theatre or screening room, but usually they’re just large projection screens with a few nice seats.

The Ambani’s theatre is more like those seen in George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch or Frank Pritt’s Portabello Estate — a full-fledged theatre, indistinguishable from a cinema.

A wine room, snack bar and entertaining space, including couches and tables, fill out the room.

Health level

While the ninth floor will have a ‘refuge’ floor — meant to be used for rescue in emergencies — two floors above that will be set aside for health.

　

It will have facilities for athletics and a swimming pool, while the other will have a health club. The indoor/outdoor health level features a lap pool and Jacuzzi that take in views of the city skyline, as well as lounge chairs shaded by trees. Yoga and dance studios, changing rooms for men and women, gyms and a solarium with a juice bar fill out the interior space. There are plans to include an ice room in the centre space, where the Ambanis can sit on a hot Mumbai day to cool off in a man-made snow flurry.

　

Garage

The first six floors of the residence will be dedicated to parking for the Ambani family, guests and employees. Space for a total of 168 imported cars has been earmarked here.

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

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 Ambani, his wife Nita, their three kids and Mukesh’s mother Kokilaben. Not forgetting his Indian roots, the world’s fifth richest man has reportedly set aside one of those four floors for his mother, Kokilaben.

Roof

The top floor also features a covered, outdoor entertaining space with panoramic views of the Mumbai skyline as well as the Arabian Sea. On those days when it’s too hot, or cold,an interior space with floor-to-ceiling windows provides the same luxury.

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. There will be three helipads there.