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As global leader of the bizarre world of upscale development ^[5], Dubai has yet another feat of both engineering and excess in the works. The latest spire to be added to the desert landscape will be the Time Residences building in the City of Arabia, a 200-unit apartment tower – that will rotate! The complex will turn a full 360 degrees over the course of a week, utilizing stored solar energy to power the turning mechanisms.

+ Gulf News ^[6]

Sitting on a high-tech bearing system, the 80,000 ton building will rotate using solar power that will be stored and distributed from a power plant in the base of the building. In addition to the 5mm/second rotation, it will also feature a timepiece down its length, allowing onlookers to gauge the hour by studying the constantly-changing façade features.

Although this is one more example of Dubai pushing extravagance for extravagance’s sake, we are somewhat consoled that the uniqueness of the project is derived from a renewable energy source; it’s just too bad that sustainable power will be wasted on such a superfluous feature.

The $109 million dollar project is expected to start in June 2007.

+ Gulf News ^[6]