Once complete, it will occupy a space larger than the Great
Pyramids of Giza and rise taller than St. Paul's Cathedral. It's
called the Mastaba — a 150 meter (500 feet) tall flat-topped
pyramidal structure that was just approved for construction by
Abu Dhabi officials. Designed by acclaimed artist Christo, the
colossal monument will cost $340 million to build and, perhaps
most striking of all, it will be made from over 410,000 multi-
colored oil barrels. The stacked oil barrels will be painted in
colors inspired by the yellow and red sands of the desert — what
Christo says will recreate the visual effect of an Islamic
mosaic. Speaking to the Observer, he said: "When the sun rises,
the vertical wall will become almost full of gold." It's
estimated that Mastaba, which will be constructed in the desert
about 100 miles from Abu Dhabi City, will take 30 months to
build and require hundreds of workers. The structure will be
accompanied by an "art campus" with an exhibition about the
project, as well as a luxury hote