>1667 ft. 660 ft. from a major fault line in Taiwan, ... could be
>subjected to earthquakes, typhoons and fierce winds ... 730-ton
>tuned mass damper (TMD). It acts like a giant pendulum to counteract
>the building's movement--reducing sway due to wind by 30 to 40
>percent. Constructed by specialty engineering firm Motioneering,
>the damper was too heavy to be lifted by crane and had to be
>assembled on-site. Eight steel cables form a sling to support the
>ball, while eight viscous dampers act like shock absorbers when the
>sphere shifts. Able to move 5 ft. in any direction, the Taipei TMD
>is the world's largest and heaviest. This gold-colored orb is on
>view from restaurants, bars and observation decks between the 88th
>and 92nd stories. A bumper ring prevents the ball from swaying too
>far, should that much swaying ever need to occur. Our recommendation,
>in that case, would be an immediate egress to firmer ground.

I have seen a TV program about this building, and it included some cell 
phone footage of the ball moving as the building was buffeted during a 
typhoon. Looked pretty awesome, but somehow I don't think I want to be 
around in a typhoon anyway ... 

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