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A penthouse is an apartment or unit traditionally on the highest floor of an apartment building, condominium, hotel, or tower. Penthouses are typically differentiated from other apartments by luxury features. The term 'penthouse' originally referred, and sometimes still does refer, to a separate smaller 'house' that was constructed on the roof of an apartment building. Architecturally it refers specifically to a structure on the roof of a building that is set back from its outer walls. These structures do not have to occupy the entire roof deck. Recently, luxury high rise apartment buildings have begun to designate multiple units on the entire top residential floor or multiple higher residential floors including the top floor as penthouse apartments, and outfit them to include ultra-luxury fixtures, finishes, and designs which are different from all other residential floors of the building. These penthouse apartments are not typically set back from the building's outer walls, but are instead flush with the rest of the building and simply differ in size, luxury, and consequently price. High-rise buildings can also have structures known as mechanical penthouses that enclose machinery or equipment such as the drum mechanisms for an elevator.
The name penthouse is derived from apentis, an Old French word meaning "attached building" or "appendage". The modern spelling is influenced by a 16th-century folk etymology that combines the Middle French word for "slope" (pente) with the English noun house (the meaning at that time was "attached building with a sloping roof or awning"). [1]
European designers and architects long recognized the potential in creating living spaces that could make use of rooftops and such setbacks. Penthouses first appeared in US cities in the 1920s with the exploitation of roof spaces for upscale property. The first recognized development was atop the Plaza Hotel overlooking Central Park in New York City in 1923. Its success caused a rapid development of similar luxury penthouse apartments in most major cities in the United States in the following years. [2]
The popularity of penthouses stemmed from the setbacks allowing for significantly larger private outdoor terrace spaces than traditional cantilevered balconies. Due to the desirability of having outdoor space, buildings began to be designed with setbacks that could accommodate the development of apartments and terraces on their uppermost levels.
Modern penthouses may or may not have terraces. Upper floor space may be divided among several apartments, or a single apartment may occupy an entire floor. Penthouses often have their own private access where access to any roof, terrace, and any adjacent setback is exclusively controlled.
Penthouses can also differentiate themselves by luxurious amenities such as high-end appliances, finest materials fitting, luxurious flooring system, and more.
Features not found in the majority of apartments in the building may include a private entrance or elevator, or higher/vaulted ceilings. In buildings consisting primarily of single level apartments, penthouse apartments may be distinguished by having two or more levels. They may also have such features as a terrace, fireplace, more floor area, oversized windows, multiple master suites, den/office space, hot-tubs, and more. They might be equipped with luxury kitchens featuring stainless steel appliances, granite counter-tops, breakfast bar/island, and more.
Penthouse residents often have fine views of the city skyline. Access to a penthouse apartment is usually provided by a separate elevator. Residents can also access a number of building services, such as pickup and delivery of everything from dry cleaning to dinner; reservations to restaurants and events made by building staffers; and other concierge services.
Penthouse apartments can also be situated on the corner of a building, providing 90° or more views of the surrounding skyline.
Penthouse apartments are considered to be at the top of their markets, and are generally the most expensive, with expansive views, large living spaces, and top-of-the-line amenities. [4] Accordingly, they are often associated with a luxury lifestyle. Publisher Bob Guccione named his magazine Penthouse , with the trademark phrase "Life on top". [5]
An apartment, flat, or unit is a self-contained housing unit that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are many names for these overall buildings. The housing tenure of apartments also varies considerably, from large-scale public housing, to owner occupancy within what is legally a condominium or leasehold, to tenants renting from a private landlord.
A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence of someone whose main or largest residence was a country house.
Multifamily residential, also known as multidwelling unit (MDU), is a classification of housing where multiple separate housing units for residential inhabitants are contained within one building or several buildings within one complex. Units can be next to each other, or stacked on top of each other. Common forms include apartment building and condominium, where typically the units are owned individually rather than leased from a single building owner. Many intentional communities incorporate multifamily residences, such as in cohousing projects.
834 Fifth Avenue is a luxury residential housing cooperative in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. It is located on Fifth Avenue at the corner of East 64th Street opposite the Central Park Zoo. The limestone-clad building was designed by Rosario Candela, a prolific designer of luxury apartment buildings in Manhattan during the period between World War I and World War II. 834 Fifth Avenue is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious apartment houses in New York City. It has been called "the most pedigreed building on the snobbiest street in the country’s most real estate-obsessed city" in an article in the New York Observer newspaper. This status is due to the building's overall architecture, the scale and layout of the apartments, and the notoriety of its current and past residents. It is one of the finest buildings designed by Rosario Candela, according to The New York Times.
37 Wall Street is a luxury apartment building on Wall Street in the heart of the Financial District in Lower Manhattan, New York City.
MarinaScape is a complex of two residential towers in Dubai Marina in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Oceanic Tower consists of 34 stories and has a total structural height of 132 m (430 ft). The shorter tower, Avant Tower, consists of 26 stories at a height of 104 m (340 ft). The towers was handed over to owners in December 2008.
Villa Riviera is a registered historic building on Ocean Boulevard in the Alamitos Beach neighborhood of Long Beach, California, United States. The building was an "own-your-own" apartment building and each unit was sold fully furnished. In those days, Apartment-Hotels were apartment buildings featuring full service hotel amenities. The Villa Riviera provided maid service, valets, doormen, concierge, and managers on duty to cater to the needs of residents. The Villa Riviera was completed, and the owners moved in, by the end of 1928 to enjoying a grand opening party January 1929.
810 Fifth Avenue is a luxury residential housing cooperative on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City.
The Guangzhou Chow Tai Fook Finance Centre, also called East Tower, is a 530-metre (1,739 ft) mixed-use supertall skyscraper in Guangzhou, Guangdong, which was completed in October 2016. It is the tallest completed building in Guangzhou, the third-tallest in China, and the eighth-tallest in the world. The Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre has a total of 111 above ground and five below ground floors and houses a shopping mall, offices, apartments, and a hotel. The skyscraper has a gross floor area of 507,681.0 m2 (5,464,633 sq ft), of which a little over 20% is not part of the skyscraper itself, but of the podium connected to it.
1040 Fifth Avenue is a luxury residential housing cooperative in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City.
360 State Street is a 300-foot (91 m) residential skyscraper completed in 2010 in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the second-tallest building in the city, and the largest apartment building in the state. DeSimone Consulting Engineers were the structural engineers on the building and it won the 2009 New York Construction – Top Project of the Year.
8 Spruce Street, previously known as the Beekman Tower and New York by Gehry, is a residential skyscraper on Spruce Street in the Financial District of Manhattan is New York City. Designed by architect Frank Gehry + Gehry Partners LLP and developed by Forest City Ratner, the building rises 870 feet with 76 stories. WSP Cantor Seinuk was the lead structural engineer, Jaros, Baum & Bolles provided MEP engineering, and Kreisler Borg Florman was construction manager. 8 Spruce Street was the tallest residential tower in the Western Hemisphere at the time of opening in February 2011.
The FOCSA Building is a residential and commercial block in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, Cuba. At 121 meters (397 ft), it was the tallest building in Cuba for over 6 decades until the construction of La Torre López-Callejas. It was named after the contracting company Fomento de Obras y Construcciones, Sociedad Anónima, and the architects were Ernesto Gómez Sampera (1921–2004), Mercedes Diaz, and Martín Domínguez Esteban (1897-1970), who was the architect of the Radiocentro CMQ Building. The structural engineer was Luis Sáenz Duplace, of the firm Sáenz, Cancio & Martín, and professor of engineering at the University of Havana. The civil engineers were Bartolome Bestard and Manuel Padron. Gustavo Becquer and Fernando H.Meneses were the mechanical and electrical engineers, respectively. It is located on a site bordered by Calles 17 and M and Calles 19 and N in the Vedado.
One Central Park is a mixed-use dual high-rise building located in the Sydney suburb of Chippendale in New South Wales, Australia. Developed as a joint venture between Frasers Property and Sekisui House, it was constructed by Besix Watpac as the first stage of the Central Park urban renewal project.
1000M is an apartment complex in the Historic Michigan Boulevard District portion of Michigan Avenue in the Chicago Loop. Designed by Helmut Jahn and Kara Mann, the building is a 73-story, 832-foot (253.6 m) tall tower located at 1000 South Michigan Avenue.
Klintegarden is an apartment complex and a number of listed buildings in Aarhus, Denmark. The complex was built in 1938 and was listed in the Danish registry of protected buildings and places by the Danish Heritage Agency on 9 December 2013. The buildings represent one of the most significant and important examples of early 20th-century functionalist architecture in Aarhus.
Eko Pearl Towers is a complex which consists of five residential towers in Eko Atlantic, Lagos State.
Ascent Uptown is a 33-story apartment building in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. The building is 338 feet (103 m) tall and includes 300 units over 487,000 sq ft (45,200 m2) of floor area.
A luxury apartment is a type of apartment that is intended to provide its occupant with higher-than-average levels of comfort, quality and convenience. While the term is often used to describe high-end regular apartments, or even typical apartments as a form of aspirational marketing, a true luxury apartment is one that is variously defined as being in the top 10% of transactions on the market, or having a total value of more than $4–5 million US dollars, with "ultra-luxury" apartments being valued above US$10 million. However, it can also mean any apartment with extra amenities, such as a doorman, yoga studios or bowling alleys, among others.
240 Central Park South is a residential building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Albert Mayer and Julian Whittlesey, it was built between 1939 and 1940 by the J.H. Taylor Construction Company, an enterprise of the Mayer family. 240 Central Park South is designed in a combination of the Art Deco, Moderne, and Modern Classical styles, with over 300 apartments.