Always pushing the limits of posh possibility, this latest endeavor aims to put an entire urban center in a temperature-controlled bubble of indoor spaces, centered around a vast Mall of the World.

Everything one can imagine will be found inside the complex, including 100 apartment and hotel buildings, various medical services, a huge shopping mall and the world’s largest indoor amusement park.

This over-the-top megastructure will join the Dubai’s collection of famous and record-breaking structures, from observation decks and submarine hotels to the tallest skyscraper in the world.

Its designers have unabashedly drawn from sources of inspiration around the world, including culturally central parts of New York, London and other historic metropolises.

Like some surreal voluntary version of Stephen King’s Under the Dome, the whole thing can be experienced without stepping outside, particularly in hot summer months. In cooler winter months, some pedestrian street roofs and park domes will be retracted to allow for natural air circulation.

The goal, as expressed by Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum (and envisioned by Dubai Holding), is to create a beacon for year-round tourism both from local visitors and those coming from abroad, transforming the UAE from a seasonal vacation spot to a place people can come at any time.

Its architects also claim the system will be eco-friendly, in part because the active and passive systems integrated throughout will work in concert with one another. Whether such a vast system in the desert can be green in the end (or willed be added to the growing list of failed abandonments in Dubai) remains to be seen .

If accepted and completed, this design would be the tallest wood-frame structure in the world. Counter-intuitive as it may seem, sustainable timber framing can be more eco-friendly than steel-and-concrete construction, which is also precisely the premise behind this competition entry that pitches wood as the primary building material.

C. F. Møller (in partnership with Dinell Johansson and Tyréns) notes that wood is renewable and lighter, thus costing less in both money and fuel to transport. Many non-architects also do not realize that wood can perform better than steel in a fire – steel heats up and buckles, while wood first loses its water weight, then chars and resists the flames.

Everything visible both inside and out celebrates the use of wood, from pillars and beams to ceilings, walls and window frames on each floor and in each unit. In turn, large exterior windows would also show off these wooden details to external viewers. At the building’s center, either wood or concrete could be used to form the service core. From the designers: “Wood is one of nature’s most innovative building materials: the production has no waste products and it binds CO2. Wood has low weight, but is a very strong load-bearing structure compared to its lightness.”

As a mixed-use development, “Social and environmental sustainability [are] integrated into the project. Each apartment will have an energy-saving, glass-covered veranda, while the building itself will be powered by solar panels on the roof. At street level there is a café and childcare facility. In a new community centre, local people will be able to enjoy the benefits of a market square, fitness centre and bicycle storage room. A communal winter garden will provide residents with an opportunity to have allotment gardens.”

Bigger is better and biggest is best! Some people take size very seriously and when it comes down to being the biggest in the world, there’s no playing around. Here’s a variety of the world’s most fantastically gigantic objects and wonders:

Biggest Pool and Indoor Beach

(Images via andrewblum, elitechoice, 123teachme)

There’s a pool beside the sea in Chile that makes an olympic pool look like a sad joke. At over 20 acres, and 1,000 yards long, this pool is a monster. Not to be outdone, the Japanese Seagaia Ocean Dome is the world’s largest indoor beach, with a fully functioning tide pool and real sand… rain or shine.

Giant Motorcycles

(Images via ridelust, desicolours)

Dream Big is the world’s tallest motorcyle, and weighs in at over 6,500 pounds. This gentle giant isn’t the only contender for the biggest motorcycle in the world, however, as the Australian Monster Motorbike from Hell weighs in at 13 tons and gets its kicks from crushing cars in front of a live audience.

Gigantic Axe

(Images via ratestogo, webshots)

In New Brunswick, Canada, they’ve erected an axe large enough to put Paul Bunyan’s to shame, all in the name of honoring New Brunswick’s proud forest industry.

Colossal Hole

(Images via newscorners, slimspeare, honorcek)

Found in Eastern Siberia, this diamond mine is nearly a mile wide and almost 2,000 feet deep. Be careful looking over that edge!

World’s Biggest Chairs

(Images via englishrussia, travelpod, wearesuperfamous)

The popularity of giant furniture most likely stems from the joy of seeing such mundane objects brought up to absurd proportions. A great promotional tool for huge furniture stores, I can think of few more enticing gimmicks to draw in new customers.

Huge Construction Equipment

(Images via catsays, listoplenty)

The Caterpillar 797 is one of the most powerful dump trucks in the world, and is able to carry over 400 short tons in one load. It’s a great help when you’re using the Krupp Bagger 288, the world’s largest trencher. The Krupp weighs over 13,500 tons and over 700 feet long.

Roadside Attractions

(Images via thexodirectory, minnemom, makethelist, seattlest)

Roadside attractions are one of the greatest boons of traveling by car, and one of the surest way to pull in bored drivers is to stamp “The World’s Largest” in front of your tourist trap. From a gigantic cow to the largest fake basket in the world, any of these items are well worth a 15 minute detour.

Heavy Duty Limos

(Images via elitechoice, glamcar, slipperybrick, driverside)

The world’s longest limo is as ostentatious as you can get, but if you want a really cool ride to prom, try out the world’s fastest limo… a stretch Ferrari 360 Modena that can get up to 170 miles per hour.

The World’s Largest Bicycles

(Images via quickrelease, vinothkumarm, allworldscars)

Why not? Is all these giant bicycle creators can say when asked why they decided to put together such ridiculously large rides. These bikes are clearly not easy to ride, so I would recommend enjoying them from a distance.