Rashtrapati Bhavan

The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, ISO: Rāṣṭrapati Bhavana; lit. 'President's House'), formerly Viceroy's House (1931–1947) and Government House (1947–1950) is the official residence of the President of India, located at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill in New Delhi. The building was designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker in Delhi Order based on Indo-Saracenic architecture. The construction began in 1912 and the building was completed in 1929. The building, initially known as Viceroy's House, housed the Viceroy of India from 1931 until India's independence. After Independence, it briefly served as the Government House, housing the Governor General of India from 1947 to 1950. When India became a Republic, it became the official residence of the President of India and was renamed as the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The main building is spread across four floors and a basement, consisting of 340 rooms and featuring a total of 2.50-kilometre-long corridors, spread across a floor area of 200,000 square metres (2,200,000 sq ft), including the President's official residence, reception halls, guest rooms and offices. It is situated in a 320 acres (130 hectares) presidential estate that includes gardens, open spaces, residences for security and staff, stables, offices and other utilities. With over 200,000 square metres (2,200,000 sq ft) of total usable floor area of the H-shaped main building, the Rashtrapati Bhavan is the largest official residence by total floor area of any head of state in the world, followed by, the Istana Nurul Iman in Brunei and the Quirinal Palace in Italy. The Indian president has other residences across India including the Rashtrapati Niketan in Dehradun, the Rashtrapati Nilayam in Hyderabad, and the Rashtrapati Niwas in Shimla.