Ambani about to move on up to his $1 billion Mumbai mansion. Perkins+Will would really rather talk about something else.

Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani is taking his wife and three kids and moving on up to his comfy new house. One that's 27 stories high. Really BIG stories - the thing soars more than 550 feet into the Mumbai skyline. Great views of the city and Arabian sea.  400,000 square feet in all. Did I mention it's the world's first billion dollar residence?

Three helipads, a health club and gym, a 50-foot movie theater, nine elevators, parking for 160 imported cars. A four-story cantilevered garden; a ballroom where crystal chandeliers take up 80% of the ceiling.  A nursery for unicorns. And a staff of 600 to keep it all going. The opening is getting a lot of press, worldwide, but what you don't see much of is the happy architects - in this case Perkins+Will - beaming in the reflection of their bold new baby. The spectacular project seems to be missing in action on Perkins+Will website, although there is a page on the New Mumbai headquarters the firm has designed for Ambani's Reliance Group.

78% of readers responding to a New York Daily News poll claim to "outraged" at this "obscene, offensive display of wealth." 18% say, "Good for him." Larry Ellison wrote in,  "Why didn't I think of this? (Call me, Ralph Johnson.)"

photo courtesy Wikipedia - click on it for larger view