Absurd Engineering: A Look at the Largest House in the World

Think about your house or apartment. Is it 1,000 square feet? 2,000 square feet? 5,000 square feet? Maybe even 10,000 square feet?  Chances are it's still about 200 times smaller than the largest house in the world if you can call it that.

To find the world's largest house, we must travel all the way to South Mumbai, India. Named Antilia, this private home, built in 2010, is the largest in the world, coming in at 400,000 square feet. It also happens to be a 27-story skyscraper.

The largest house in the world

Believe it or not, the entire 27 floors are entirely used as residential space by Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in India, and his four family members. A staff of 600 is required to maintain the residence 24 hours a day.

Not only is it the largest "home" in the world, but it is also the most expensive residential property in the world, coming in at over $1 billion.

The building was designed by a Chicago-based architectural firm called Perkins and Will and was built by an Australian construction company called Leighton Holdings.

The skyscraper home stands over 550 feet tall, and each of the 27 floors was built with extra-high ceilings. In addition, the building spans 37,200 square meters. Considering the average ceiling height, the building could've had up to 60 floors with standard floor construction.

What's in the house?

But what could one family of 5 use 27 floors for? On the roof, there is enough space for three helicopters to land on the array of helipads. Right below these helipads is a floor reserved for air traffic control management. Below that sits the main residence portion of the structure.

Moving down from here, there are maintenance floors, guest apartments, a swimming pool and spa, outdoor gardens, a 50-seat cinema, and of course, at the bottom, there are six floors of parking with room for over 200 cars. Moreover, with the number of floors the building boasts, it is not surprising that it has nine high-speed elevators.

Not only is the home excessive in opulence, but it also boasts some impressive engineering. It can withstand an earthquake of up to eight on the Richter scale. The entire structure was also designed to conserve energy as much as possible, using passive ventilation and the garden for cooling.

When the passive energy efficiency isn't enough, a massive "ice room" is also used to keep the home colder than any other building in the city.

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All this goes to say that the world's biggest house is quite expensive and perhaps a little unnecessary. Valuations place it at over $1 billion, but the Indian media has speculated that it cost $2 billion to construct. This estimate was verified when the director of marketing for the architecture design firm that designed Antilia confirmed the cost in an interview with Forbes magazine.

So, the largest house in the world is probably a lot bigger than where you're living right now, but don't feel too bad... at least you don't have to pay its electricity bill.