Got House?

A constant refrain in the Darwin home is, "When we build our own house...." Over the years, we've accumulated so many features and design choices we want to incorporate that we'll never remember them without a list. I'm going to start a blog category called "Ideal House" for jotting down these items whenever they spring to mind, so that whenever we're ready to build we can just show our list to an architect and watch him laugh hysterically.

But I guarantee that our ideal house will not include an ice room so that we can sit in a whirl of artificial snow, six stories worth of parking garages, or cost $2 billion:

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 with a cost nearing $2 billion, says Thomas Johnson, director of marketing at Hirsch Bedner Associates. The architects and designers are creating as they go, altering floor plans, design elements and concepts as the building is constructed.

...The home will cost more than a hotel or high-rise of similar size because of its custom measurements and fittings: A hotel or condominium has a common layout, replicated on every floor, and uses the same materials throughout the building (such as door handles, floors, lamps and window treatments).

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.

Wonder what $2 billion looks like?