In this latest attempt at one-upmanship in the realm of rapid construction, a company in China has built a two-story villa from six modules, putting the 3D-printed pieces together on site with conventional equipment in under three hours.

In a country already boasting the world’s first 3D-printed apartment complex and 10 3D-printed houses assembled in a single day from scrap materials, this latest contender is located in the historical city of Xi’an. A product of the ZhuoDa group, the building boasts robust earthquake-proof construction and impressive affordability thanks in part to cost savings associated with the methods employed (around $40-50 per square foot). 90% of the construction is completed off-site, the components then shipped by truck to their destination.

Part of the strength of the structure is tied to its modular construction – each of the 6 constituent architectural subunits is structurally independent, able to survive stress and shifts relative to the whole.

The core material used in the 3D-printing process has been kept secret, but the company has indicated this new custom composite is sourced from industrial and agricultural waste, is fireproof and waterproof, and is free from harmful substances such as formaldehyde, ammonia, and radon.

On the day of the build, the living room was put together, then the bedroom, kitchen and bathroom, all on the first floor. Next, the terrace, bedroom and utility rooms on the second floor were assembled. The result is a rapid construction process that reduces air and noise pollution for neighbors.

A prefabrication time of just 10 days for the core modules also compares favorably with typical on-site construction times ranging up to 6 months for a structure of comparable size, quality and durability (the estimated lifespan of the structures is 150 years). Variable finished looks will allow homebuyers to customize their individual houses, selecting mixtures for surfaces that simulate the textures and appearance of exotic and expensive materials including jade, wood, granite or marble.

Comprised of 19 shipping containers, this record-breaking restaurant has reclaimed a riverside wasteland in the River Arts District of Asheville, North Carolina, turning a brownfield site into an eatery accessible by boats, buses, bikes, pedestrians and, of course, cars.

The Smoky Park Supper Club was put together in just a few days, its various modules modified offsite then shipped in by truck for assembly. The project’s architects boast that energy cost of melting down used containers is close to 20 times what it takes to simply adapt them for reuse.

Aside from the cost and power savings, using cargo containers as building blocks makes them easy to transport and obviates the need for construction workers, material trucks and other traffic that can cause consternation in the neighborhoods through which the building pieces pass.

The restaurant itself features a “local farm-to-table menu built around wood-fired based cooking and classic American fare that chef Rosenstein describes as simple, direct, and live-fired.” It will also showcase local art.

Faster, leaner and just plain better, this ingenious resign reduces wasted cardboard, eliminates excess tape and is also more convenient to build, open and store than traditional shipping boxes.

Fully reversible for easy reuse, this patent-pending creation is the product of two Cooper Union student collaborators, Henry Wang and Chris Curro, undergraduates in the Albert Nerken School of Engineering.

The Rapid Packing Container deftly address a long series of shortcomings, showing that even something so taken for granted as the cardboard box can benefit from serious improvement.

Instead of pulling the unfolded box from a shelf then manually taping together various sides and flaps, shippers can simply press the flattened version of the RPC into a box that folds it for them. After removing a single strip of paper, a minimal amount of exposed adhesive does the rest. Instead of unnecessarily overlapping layers of cardboard, or using tape to support weight, the built-in corrugation and interlocking folds provide for essential structural needs all while using less material.

The end-user experience is also refreshingly clean and simple – instead of cutting through copious amounts of tape, recipients can push a tab to open the box and watch it unfold in front of them. If there is branding or shipping data on the exterior, that set of exposed sides can be flipped, folded and bent back into the hidden interior. Of course, only time and rigorous testing will tell whether this radical reinvention can disrupt entrenched industrial design standards.