CITY Issue 53

In England, First Penthouse builds new rooftop apartments off site, and then hoists them to the top of London townhouses, seamlessly merging the old construction with the new. The firm hopes to expand to other European cities and the U.S. ‘LIFE [AND CONSTRUCTION] IS SO EASY WHEN YOU CAN HAVE ALL THE NOISE AND DUST ELSEWHERE. AND THEN ONE DAY, IT JUST SHOWS UP AND YOU MOVE IN.’ Penthouse are more subtle, typically blending in with the roof ’s original architecture. The company, which acts as a developer by buying the roof space first, then adding the rooftop apartments and selling them off, was founded as a means of getting around the usual obstacles that can be expected when building on-site in the city: traffic, permits, and the often unpleasant British weather. “The difference is absolutely mind-blowing,” says Hakan Olsson, who founded the company in 1992 with his wife Annika. “Life is so easy when you can have all the noise and dust elsewhere. And then one day it just shows up and you move in.” Despite the time-saving logic behind the execution of the Olssons’ projects, the tony penthouse apartments themselves are in no way skimpy. Projects have ranged from 300 to 4,000 square feet per unit, and cost upwards of $1,000 per square foot, depending on the location’s real estate demands. But times—and clientele—are changing; contrary to rising costs just about everywhere else, Olsson reports that First Penthouse’s prices will actually go down. “Originally our clients fell into the super-rich category, but we have streamlined the process so that we can build at a lower cost and more people will be able to buy them,” he says. Olsson also plans to expand First Penthouse’s developments to include other European cities, and eventually even the U.S., where the concept of plopping a prefabricated structure atop one’s roof is a comparatively new notion. Indeed, New York, where space is at the greatest premium, is currently host to the most visible number of roof-rooted residences. Top Penthouse has found a nice little niche for itself in Manhattan, though there does exist a growing number of architects like Berman who are willing to take on the challenge of building on-site. In 2005, he completed a 4,500square-foot extension atop a Grand Street building. The space is a veritable rooftopia, surrounded by lawn, gardens, and trees, and includes a greenhouse, kitchen, dining room, and living room, all attached by an interior staircase to the penthouse below. The owners clearly wanted an existence within both environments—town and country—but why go through all the trouble of constructing a half-country house in the center of New York for the same cost of a buying a small property in the countryside? 68 CI T Y

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CITY Issue 53

CITY Issue 53 Contents Letter from CITY Our Friends Action Wanted City Moment In Rogue Fast Food The Amused Bouche Fit Unnatural Wonders Paradise Found Gold Standard Parc Yourself Get Wet Naughty or Nice Raise the Roof Luxury Is... Bird of Prey Hardwear To Die For Twisted Sisters Basic Instinct Where To Buy It Socials Icon

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