The Economic Times

In 2006, Rowan Atkinson paid 2.6 million for a 1930s Oxfordshire house, knocked it down and fought to replace it with a glass mansion; 16 years later, he finally moved in

Actor Rowan Atkinson's striking glass and steel mansion project encountered significant resistance from local residents who initially critiqued it as looking like a 'space-age petrol station.' Despite the backlash, the daring design received local council approval. After a lengthy decade-long construction period, the residence has emerged as an award-winning example of innovative energy-efficient architecture, changing critics perspectives.