Greenwashing
Boasting as the greenest building in a city of 13 million
people, the Mukesh Ambani tower in Mumbai Perkins + Will proved it has jumped
on the popular greenwashing bandwagon. The term, “greenwashing” or companies
recognizing the market value of green and making false claims to fit the
category has been appropriated by many large and small companies alike. The
Mukesh Ambani was cited in “Ecological Urbanism” by Mohsen Mostafavi by
stirring up a question of its ethical to build such extravagant buildings so
close to the poor, proving the extreme divide in resources. After reading
Mostafavi’s piece and discovering the Mukesh Ambani tower, named ‘Antilia’ for
the first time, it was astounding to discover the excess in which people are
choosing to live. Antilia is a private residence owned by Mukesh Ambani and he
keeps a staff of 600 to serve the residence 24 hours a day. In 2014 it was
deemed the most expensive residence after the Buckingham Palace, a crown
property, thus making it the most expensive privately-owned residence at a
value over 1 billion. It has not one, but three helipads on the roof, 400,000
square feet and has a snow room, where snowflakes come out of the walls. The
tower is covered in gardens on terraces and hanging hydroponic plants, claiming
that the plants act as an energy-saving device by absorbing sunlight and
deflecting heat from living spaces making it more energy efficient. This may be
the most extreme example but it begs us to ponder the question Mostafavi asks, “What
are the guidelines for evaluating the impact of a building on the city, not
just in terms of aesthetic appearance, but also in its relation to its ethical
performance?”
Antilia shown with low income housing in the foreground.
Green facade of Antilia.
I extremely dislike this project for it's extravagance, especially due to it's location (again, cultural and ethical questions), but I also wonder how "sustainable" it actually is considering that it's basically a 400,000 square foot home for a small family. How can that much building material/daily use of the building/space allotment actually be considered any type of "sustainable"? So what if it meets certain energy codes, if the owner goes to sell, would anyone even be able to buy or would it get repurposed to another function?
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ReplyDeleteThis project I think is the epitome of the 'other'ing of sustainability - as a commodity and as a luxury. The Ambani family has created hundreds of thousands of jobs that have directly helped to modernize a developing country that still has miles to go, and as a result hold a lot of political clout. While I do not think that aspect alone merits such private indulgence masked by a facade of greenness, I would also like to question whether we as architects should morally challenge the decisions of our clients, especially when they happen to be rich and influential. Who are we to question what the rich want for their private lives? Is it 'ethically' wrong to be extravagantly luxurious in an economically diverse and developing country, or does the same standard also apply to richness in developed countries.
ReplyDeletefull disclosure: I've been told I'm a libertarian.
DeleteThat's cool, I also like Libraries.
DeleteThis aspect of sustainable economy is very intriguing to me. The contrast of the rich and the poor is a very stark one in Mumbai and so many other cities, including Delhi.
ReplyDeleteAlthough looking at architecture as a means of instilling equitable distribution of resources, is a very unique challenge, I am not sure how much architecture is equipped with doing that; especially since the both the industries are so autonomous.
When I first look at the picture of the building. I don't think it is for just one or two rich people. It looks like kind of mixed use building with ecological strategy. And it looks interesting to put this building in the poor area, which is a good way to change this area. But actually, it is not. And it is very expensive. So, next time, we need to know more about the story behind it.
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