Penthouse and townhouse are types of luxury housing. Despite some consonance of these concepts, there is a colossal difference between them both in appearance and in price.
Definitions
The word "penthouse" comes from the English penthouse and literally means a technical attic or utility room. Much later, it acquired the significance of a dwelling on the roof of a skyscraper or a separate area on the top floor of a building due to the lack of living space. The structure of such a room could contain the upper part of the elevator shaft, air conditioning equipment, and stairs leading to the roof. Usually the penthouse is located at the back of the front side of the building, therefore it has terraces or open areas on one side.
The word "townhouse" also comes from the English townhouse and means a residential building for several multi-level apartments with isolated entrances. Townhouses quickly spread to European cities and suburbs. Each apartment in a townhouse, in addition to a separate entrance from the street, has, as a rule, a garage and a small front garden.
Fundamental differences
In modern practice, the word "penthouse" means an expensive and luxurious apartment, from the windows of which you can see the original panoramic view on four sides and access to the roof. This term is associated with the height of the position in society, the corresponding status, a high level of income and the popularity of the owner of housing of this level.
The cost of a penthouse apartment is many times higher than the cost of other apartments in the same building. Since a penthouse is a symbol of prestige, many wealthy people are ready to give almost any money for it. For Russia, this new type of luxury real estate is gaining momentum only now.
Naturally, the best penthouse should have a stunning panoramic view and a prestigious location, as well as high ceilings and an exploitable roof in case of creating a unique interior. The requirements also include environmentally friendly building and finishing materials, a fireplace, a winter garden, a helipad, as well as a complete set of engineering infrastructure (energy and water supply, telecommunications, air conditioning, heating, elevators, security).
The architectural solutions of penthouses are sometimes unique, they are often decorated with terraces, flower beds, even full-size swimming pools. The most luxurious penthouses have individual lifts.
A townhouse, on the domestic market, is a semi-apartment type housing of two or three floors in the central part of the city or in a green area on the outskirts. Townhouses are built, as a rule, in one line and each house has a separate entrance, garage, parking space, and sometimes a small plot of land. In fact, this is a combination of a country house and a city apartment.
Townhouses are now an alternative not only to a country mansion, but also to urban housing in a multi-storey building.
Mainly, townhouses use a vertical layout, where on the upper level there is a nursery, bedroom and study, and on the lower level there is a living room, kitchen and utility room. Each level has a separate bathroom. This economical type of housing is designed for the middle and business class.
The cost of this type of housing is practically equal to the cost of a city apartment and it is several times less than the cost of a country house. The demand for townhouses is quite large and the most demanded are ready-made high-quality townhouses in residential areas.
