By Steve Taggart
With awards season drawing to a close, it is not only movies and actors that deserve recognition for their work. Global real estate network Lamudi rolls out the red carpet for the Property Oscars – recognizing some of the leaders in international real estate.
Category: Tallest Building
And the Oscar goes to…the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is 829.9 metres (2,722ft) high and has claimed the official title of tallest building in the world since opening in January 2010. It is almost twice the height of the Empire State Building, which was the world’s tallest building for nearly 40 years.
Burj Khalifa features 162 floors, took six years to be build and is owned by Emaar Estates. It holds several records such as tallest skyscraper, building with the most floors, world’s highest escalator installation, world’s highest restaurant and nightclub, and many more.
Both the height of the building and its costs are enormous. The building’s price tag, at US$ 1.5 billion, was about 37 times the amount of the Empire State building.
Category: Oldest Building
Considered the oldest building in the world is the nearly 7000-year-old Barnenez, overlooking the bay of Molaix in Brittany, France. The estimated weight of the massive stone structure is 13,000 to 14,000 tons. It features 11 chambers, each entered by separate passages. No doubt the building has had many more than one owner and purpose.
The Neolithic monument was built around 4,800 BC and classified as a tumulus (a type of grave) in 1850. But over time it was not only used to host the dead. At first the building was 32 metres long, nine metres wide and eight metres high. In 4,200 BC and 3,900 BC the building was extended to six further chambers added to the west, increasing its size to 72 metres long, 25 metres wide and over 13 metres high. The structure was almost destroyed after it was used as a quarry for paving stones.
Category: Most Expensive Home
The 400,000 square feet private skyscraper – situated in the south of Mumbai, India – is the residence of the world’s fifth richest man, Mukesh Ambani. He is the chairman of Reliance Industries Limited and moved in to the 27-storey skyscraper with his wife and three children.
The first six floors are only parking lots, followed by a huge lobby with nine elevators going up Ambani’s 167.64 metre-high (550 feet) home. In the enormous home, which is known as Antilla, no two floors are the same in terms of interior and materials used. The property features several storage rooms, lounges, a large ballroom with 80 percent of its ceiling covered in crystal chandeliers, several swimming pools, a yoga studio, an ice room with man-made snow and a four-storey open garden.
The costs of the world’s largest and most expensive home were approximately two billion US dollars.
Category: Most Expensive Building
Located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the world’s most expensive building is the Abraj Al-Bait Towers, also known as the Mecca Royal Hotel Clock Tower. It is owned by the government and had an estimate building cost of US$15 billion.
The 601 metre-high building is part of the King Abdulaziz Endowment Project which was introduced to modernize the city in order to cope with the massive amount of visitors who make the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
The Abraj Al-Bait Towers has a large prayer room capable of holding more than 10,000 people and also includes a five-star hotel to host the pilgrims, who participate in the Hajj each year.
Category: Most Famous Home
The White House is the most famous home in the world and principal workplace of the most powerful man in the United States – the President.
Built in 1792, it features six storeys, of which two are in the basement, 132 rooms, 16 bedrooms and 35 bathrooms, measuring altogether 5,901.65 square metres (or 55,000 square feet). Each week the White House receives up to 30,000 visitors, 65,000 letters, 3,500 phone calls and 100,000 emails.
In 1962 Jacqueline Kennedy, the wife of the president, directed the extensive and historic redecoration of the White House. For each room there a different theme related to the early republic and world history was selected. The best-known room is the Oval Office, which also provides the backdrop for many Hollywood blockbusters.
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