Penthouses have been in the news recently. A penthouse apartment in New York sold for a record-breaking $100 million (£65.9 million) last month, making it the city’s most expensive residential property deal. Meanwhile in the UK, the developer Redrow had to pull a promotional sales video for a penthouse development after it attracted a huge backlash online — the trailer-style video was described by Twitter users as “dystopian”, “creepy” and “objectionable”.
The record-breaking sale and the controversial video tell us that, even though high-rise living is the norm, penthouses have not lost their appeal with the super-rich, and they are still a source of fascination for the rest of us. Christopher Dezille, of the design consultancy Honky, explains why: “Penthouses are not just the top