Chicago's 82-story Aqua Tower received an interesting award recently. Jeanne Gang, principle and founder of Studio Gang Architects earned a PETA Proggy award for using bird-deflecting elements in the residential building and hotel. The undulating exterior and etched glass help prevent birds from flying directly into windows. It's a pretty neat building for people too, those curves make for some distinctive balconies. The building contains 55,000 square feet of retail and office space as well as hotel rooms, condo units and apartments.

Right now there are about a dozen units available for sale in the building as well as nine luxury Parkhomes available for purchase starting November 1,2009. The Parkhomes are two and three bedroom homes located near the base of Aqua in Lakeshore East, facing the Lakeshore East park. They are 3000 square feet and start at $1.6 to $1.8 million. The most expensive unit in Aqua is the Aqua penthouse, a four-bedroom single-floor residence with views of the city and Lake Michigan. It is priced at $1,988,832. In the building two bedroom units start in the $700,000s and the three bedrooms start at $1 million. Units are also available for rent.

The Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco has unveiled the remodel of their lavish penthouse suite. The $15,000 suite with the gorgeous bay views, a billiard room, dining room, living room, two-story library and terrace is being reopened this month just in time for a wedding that unites two prominent wine families. The suite takes up the entire eighth floor and has three bedrooms. For your $15,000 a night you get the services of a butler, housekeeper, chef, masseuse and personal trainer and the use of a Ferrari California.

[via MSNBC]

We've been talking about it for months but the listing for Bernie Madoff's New York City penthouse has finally gone up. The duplex penthouse with an elliptical staircase, living room with triple exposures and oh-so-much beige is listed at $9.9 million. The listing pics are a bit prettier than the other slideshows of the home we've seen recently but it still has a vacant, un-loved feel. The master suite is downstairs and has a huge walk-in closet and a marble bathroom. The small library has custom built-ins and one of Madoff's beloved bull statues slouches in the corner. The home has four wood-burning fireplaces and a total of three bedrooms. Will anyone pony up the cash for Madoff's pad of shame? A little livening up and this place could be beautiful.

You might think that the most expensive listing in Atlanta was some sprawling estate but today's glamourous apartment costs over twice as much as many large estates in the area. The two-bedroom penthouse has floor-to-ceiling windows which offer long views in all directions. The home is decorated with modern flair. Three private elevators open to long picture-lined marble galleries, silk-upholstered walls and a grand salon which has doors to the terrace and music room. The expansive dining room can entertain 30 guests and a state-of-the-art Siematic kitchen with gleaming stainless steel appliances. The home includes a wine room, billiard room, media room, fitness room, library and terraces with jaw-dropping views. It is listed at $17 million.

Real estate isn't faring well in Las Vegas lately but loss often leads to opportunity. Case in point, this three-story penthouse in the Sky Las Vegas complex on the Strip. It was once listed at $10.3 million when it was published in Architectural Digest's Estates for Sale but that was a couple of years ago in a booming real estate market. Now it is listed at $2.99 million with Luxury Realty Group.

For your money you get approximately 5184 square feet of living space with four bedrooms and huge windows showcasing Strip views in two directions. The penthouse has two terraces, one with an outdoor kitchen and an outdoor hot tub. The condo also includes two wet bars; multiple ice makers, wine refrigerators and dishwashers; a home theatre and a home gym.

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I was already loving the look of The Sky Lodge, a boutique five-star condo hotel in Park City, Utah, before I spotted these really cool screen-style doors that divides the bathroom from one of the three bedrooms in the penthouse suite. It turns out that those screens have a very interesting story, and it made me love the property even more.

But first let me back up and say that Sky Lodge's penthouse is where I'd want to a host a party during Sundance, since it's got 2,736 square feet inside, and almost as much -- 2,600 feet -- outside in the form of an enormous wrap-around deck with views of the mountains and Park City, all easily enjoyed from the hot tub. (Check it out in the gallery.) I'll further digress and say that while this suite runs approximately $5,000 a night during the winter season, if you visit during the summer, you can get this three bedroom suite for around $1,500 a night.

Back to the doors: they're made from an opaque ecoresin, into which is embedded beads and coiled copper wire. It turns out that these are "Ithemba", a product of 3form USA's "Full Circle" program, which attempts to marry environmental consciousness with social awareness to create beautiful design products. The beads and woven copper are created by South African women who are impacted with HIV, they recieve training in business skills, job skills training, marketing assistance while they're earning a living by maintaining traditional crafts. "Ithemba" means hope in Xosi. Just knowing this made me enjoy my time in Sky Lodge's Amatsu spa all the more.

If you're not in the market for a screen or a door, check out the cuff bracelet in the gallery below, which you can order here.

It's finally happened, Joan Rivers is selling her New York City penthouse. Rivers bought her duplex condominium about 20 years ago in a converted 1903 mansion on East 62nd Street just off Fifth Avenue in New York City. The NY Times Big Deal column reports that Rivers restored the home including the double-height ballroom which now serves as the tremendously ornate living room shown above. The baroque room is embellished with gilded molding and a sky-painted ceiling. The three-bedroom penthouse includes a south-facing terrace with views of Central Park. Things get a little bit more subdued in the library and a bit more suited to the comedian and jewelry line pitchwoman with a large tufted leather sofa and a leopard print rug. Rivers, who reportedly is moving to California to be closer to her daughter, also owns a home in Litchfield County, Connecticut. The penthouse is listed at $25 million.

Today's home is another mansion in the sky in Miami. This home in Grovenor House is a five-bedroom home which includes a luxurious outdoor rooftop sanctuary that has a heated infinity edge pool, full service kitchen and walls of stone with flowing waterfalls, ample sunbathing areas and of course, a stunning view. The home has balconies and plenty of windows, spa-like bathrooms and a spiral wood and glass staircase. It's heavy on the beige and light wood but the built-ins in the living room are quite nice and given the gorgeousness of the outdoor area, why go inside anyway? This home is listed at $16.9 million.

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We've seen some big price cuts lately but when a property gets cut more than a few million it always attracts attention. The New York Observer reports that Austrian-born investor Gerhard Andlinger has cut a whopping $16 million off his Time Warner Center penthouse which first hit the market for $65 million last November.

For your $49 million you get 8,300 square feet of space with stunning 360 degree views of New York City. The penthouse has 14 foot ceilings and the master bedroom suite includes an office, his and her dressing rooms, gym and his and her bathrooms. For entertaining there is a 41 foot-long living room with floor to ceiling windows, and for more private moments there is a red lacquered corner library/office. The penthouse also has a full dining room, chef's kitchen and pantry, laundry center, four additional bedrooms and a screening room.

The building also has an array of amenities such as concierge service, the use of the gym, spa and pool of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and access to Club 51, which offers party rooms with bar and catering kitchen, roofdeck, children's playroom, gym, massage room and theater. The listing is here.

The founder of online gambling site Bodog, Calvin Ayre has put his swank Vancouver condo on the market. Ayre, shown here with Paris Hilton in 2006, made the Forbes billionaires list that year. But last year he sold Bodog amid controversy (Fast Company's July 2008 profile of him is a must-read article). Since then, as the Vancouver Sun reports, he seems to have dropped out of sight.

His penthouse in the Yaletown area is nothing short of spectacular. The penthouse is 5,000 square feet of high living as only a young gambler with a ton of money can envision it. Almost more of a nightclub than a home it has outdoor decks overlooking the marina, a 25-foot-high living room ceiling, a 1,200-bottle wine cellar, outdoor hot tub with a view and even a panic room. The master bedroom suite includes a dressing room and sybaritic bathroom. All of Ayre's high-end furnishings are being sold with the apartment. It is listed at $10 million Canadian.

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Cityfile reports that designer Kenneth Cole is trying hard to find a buyer for his 33rd floor penthouse in New York City. Cole has had the apartment, since 1985 but he bought a new place in March for $14.5 million. Cole's Penthouse includes 1,000 square feet of outdoor space, a large living room with three exposures, wood-burning fireplace, limestone and marble bathrooms and a kitchen with high-end appliances. He was originally asking $18.95 million for the four-bedroom apartment but is now asking $16.95 million. There is also a chance to pick up another one-bedroom unit in the building as a maid's apartment.

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I first mentioned this one back in August but now the listing is available for us to take a good look. Back in August the San Francisco Chronicle reported that real estate mogul Victor MacFarlane put his St. Regis penthouse for sale for $70 million which would easily set a record for San Francisco. The condo is roughly 20,000 square feet and was originally three unfinished units on the top two floors. He bought the property for about $30 million in late 2005. The property also features 2,900 square feet of terraces with 360-degree views of many San Francisco landmarks. Glass walls also offer plenty of light and the foyer has a winding staircase and two-story waterfall. There are six bedrooms, two offices, a wine storage room, a gym with a sauna and a home theater room. It is definitely one of the most striking apartments in the country, let alone San Francisco but will anyone pay $70 million for it? Other San Francisco properties above the $30 million or so mark have lingered on the market. I suspect $70 million is a bit ambitious for a Bay Area apartment, even one as fabulous as this.

UPDATE: This home is now listed at $49 million.

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There was at least one glaring omission in the Wealth Bulletin's list of the world's top 10 most expensive hotel suites, which we reported on last month: the penthouse at The Setai in South Beach, Miami. With 6,500 square feet of interior space and 3,000 square feet of terraces and balconies, the pad's $30,000-per-night pricetag makes it the 3rd most expensive hotel room in the world when inserted in its proper place on the list.

The Setai penthouse is designed with an haute-Asian aesthetic employing exotic woods and other luxe finishes, and features a double living room that extends across the entire eastern end of the 40 story glass tower. The living room boasts unlimited views of the northern, southern, eastern and western horizons. There are two master suites with soaking tubs, private balconies and beach views.

State of the art LCD touch panel screens, installed throughout the penthouse, offer total control over the lighting, audio-visual and building systems. A sunken infinity edge stainless steel pool (above) complete with waterfall and raised coral stone-encased hot tub highlight the massive terrace. The Setai also recently opened a recording studio designed by Lenny Kravitz. See the gallery for more.

An investment group has listed Boston's most expensive penthouse, atop the brand new five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel (above), for $17 million - a new record for the city. The investment group paid $13 million for the 8,000-sq.-ft. spread prior to the hotel's completion, and just relisted it for $4 million more. Calling it "Boston's most awe-inspiring penthouse ever," the sales material reads, "Fourteen stories above Back Bay, this 8,000-square-foot oasis features floor-to-ceiling windows on four sides, providing unmatched and unobstructed views," the Boston Herald reports.

The space includes two private terraces and decks, a private elevator, and four parking spaces in the garage, but the interior is "customizable" - i.e. unfinished. The Mandarin, which just opened this month and combines luxury condos with a five-star hotel and luxury boutiques like Gucci, is "fast becoming Boston's most prestigious address," the paper notes.

Florida real estate may be precarious but that hasn't stopped the rise of luxury condo penthouses. Today's home is the palatial penthouse A at the top of the Apogee building in Miami Beach. The penthouse is 6,853 square feet of interior square feet spread out over three levels with six bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms. The interior is mostly raw space with double-height windows and 22-foot celings but the exterior space is what really dazzles. It has more than 11,000 square feet of terrace space with a 360-degree rooftop palazzo, private pool, and summer kitchen. The views are outstanding from just about every angle. The penthouse comes with an elevator, 2.5-car private air-conditioned garage, staff quarters, and other luxury amenities. It is listed at $22 million.

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[Thanks, Don!]