Dubai: Luxury comes in different shapes, sizes, colours and flavours.
However, developers of the Pentominium - a multi-billion dirham project - is taking it to new heights - 516 metres to be exact, a new level, 120 floors to be precise, when it is completed in 2011.
Trident International Holdings (TIH), an iconic Dubai-based luxury real estate developer, is building the world's tallest end-to-end penthouse collection in the Pentominium - the first of its kind in the world - 172 units of them in total.
The company has commissioned Swissboring for the piling work and is currently negotiating to award the main construction contract. When completed, the Pentominium will also be the world's tallest residential tower.
The tower, to be located at the Dubai Marina, will feature the "best of the best in luxury, comfort and fashion".
"Each floor will have one penthouse only. So, you do not have a neighbour. The entire floor is yours," Wazir Ali Daredia, the Executive Director and CEO of Trident International Holdings, told Gulf News in an interview.
"However, each penthouse faces either side of the tower with a vertical distance of half a floor with others, thus having one's own private lobby, entry and other facilities. These are for the very high-end VVIP customers who live in ultra luxury environment."
Buyers of these penthouses will have luxury yachts and chauffeur-driven Rolls Royces at their disposal - all part of the package.
The company has already signed up Salvatore Ferragamo, the world-renowned Italian luxury brand, to design the penthouses' interiors. "Pentominium is a step ahead of the game. We have taken a matured market philosophy in our developments," Daredia said.
Ferragamo will bring a touch of "classic elegance and timeless sophistication", signature trademarks of the Florentine brand's effortless style, to the interiors of the penthouses.
He said it will create a "perfect balance in each and every room, with the finest furniture and accessories, scrupulous attention to detail and superior craftsmanship, for beautiful, unique spaces".
"Prices of these penthouses start at Dh25 million and range up to Dh40 million," Daredia said.
Response
The company launched the Ferragamo collection at the Cityscape earlier this month. "The response has been very good," he said.
The launch took place at a time, when Dubai's property market began to face a slowdown.
Buyers of penthouses are unlikely to be affected by the global meltdown as these are for people with deep pockets.
"However, at Trident, we have developed a strong branding with a strong portfolio. We have handed over four projects, out of the six announced so far - something unmatched in this market," he said.
"We are not in a hurry and definitely not in a race with anyone. We have developed a portfolio over a period of time. After a while, no one will buy off-plan. As the market matures, you will see more serious buyers in the market.
"So, the buyers will look at the portfolio value and historic data. We are not in the commodity business."
Luxury, he said, is a way of life. "Initially, we approached brands with more than 150 years of history," he said, explaining the branding of the projects - a strength the penthouses will have," he said.
"Names like Armani, Rolls Royce and Ferragamo are institutions built over decades and centuries that are trusted by people. We have attached that trust and institutions with the projects.
"In a Ferragamo penthouse, for example, everything including linen and cutlery will be designed by Salvatore Ferragamo. You just walk into your home, designed by them."
TIH has released 24 Ferragamo limited edition penthouses.
Intellectual property
What's in a name?
Pentominium has been coined from 'Penthouse' and 'Condominium'. The company has patented its copyright with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
Dubai, the city of the superlatives, is the birthplace of the term, developed by Trident International Holdings (TIH).
"We will develop more Pentominiums across the world, both as developer and licensee," said Wazir Ali Daredia, the executive director and chief executive of TIH.
"Some parties have expressed their interest in expanding the brand in other markets. However, we want to concentrate on the first."
He said, the term Pentominium might become part of the English vocabulary as a reference for ultra-luxury penthouses.
