The official residence of the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, is the largest house in the world. The name Istana Nurul Iman means “Palace of the Light of Faith”. The palace has 1,788 rooms, 257 bathrooms, 5 swimming pools, a garage for 110 cars, a dining hall and a mosque for 500 people.
The palace was designed by V. Leandro Locsin in 1984. It was built by the Philippine company Ayala International. The cost of the 200,000 square meter house is 1.4 billion dollars.
To qualify for the Guinness World Record, the palace must have been intended for use as a royal residence and the combined area of the palace’s indoor floors (a measurement commonly known as floor area). With these standards, Guinness World Records currently recognizes Istana Nurul Iman as the “largest residential palace in the world”. Upon completion, Istana Nurul Iman is considered the world’s largest residential palace and large single-family residence built to date. It includes a banquet hall that can expand to accommodate up to 5,000 people, a mosque that seats 1,500. The palace also includes a garage for 110 cars, an air-conditioned stable for the Sultan’s 200 polo ponies and five swimming pools. In total, Istana Nurul Iman has a floor area of 200,000 m². Istana Nurul Iman has 564 chandeliers, 51,000 light bulbs, 44 stairwells and 18 elevators.
The sultan, who was so fond of luxury and splendor, also had a special interest in art. As a result, the palace is home to valuable works by world-renowned artists, including paintings by the famous French painter Renoir, which were purchased by the sultan for 70 million dollars in 1980.