It starts off as an ordinary shipping container, but throw a switch and ninety seconds later the Illy Push Button House has magically expanded into a five-room abode. Architect and designer Adam Kalkin created this jack-in-the-box-like dwelling, whose sections are unfolded by powerful hydraulic cylinders controlled by a computer in the kitchen section. The house is made out of recycled materials, and has a dining area in the center, surrounded by a bedroom, living room, library and kitchen.

This mechanized hydraulic contraption is on display now at New York's Time Warner Center until December 29th, in hopes of demonstrating how prefabricated houses can be placed in, say, a disaster area and quickly assembled in a matter of seconds. Now if Kalkin could just figure out how to include a roof in this design, we think he might be onto something.

Illy, via Born Rich