This remarkable building-in-a-box was designed for housing refugees, but it's now on sale.
CMAX Systems' building-in-a-box seems almost too good to be true. It offers a solid-floored, robust, habitable structure, 19 ft long by 7.4 ft wide (5.8 x 2.25 m) with a ceiling height of 7.2 ft (2.2 m), so only a handful of pro basketball players would brush their heads on the ceiling.

The CMAX System's most transformative super power though, is its ability to fold into a manageable 330-lb (150-kg) unit that can easily be transported on the back of a pickup or a trailer, then set down more or less anywhere, raised off the ground and leveled out with its adjustable legs and ready to go within about 10 minutes, using two people and no special tools. You could look at it as a super-robust, solid-floor, eight-person tent that won't blow away in a storm, or as an easily relocatable temporary building.

The rigid central structure of the unit enables the CMAX (at additional cost) to mount solar panels, air-conditioning and/or a water treatment unit. It also gives it a lockable door – although to be fair, security-wise it's only really locked until somebody wanders up with a knife and makes a new door of their own.

The unit is designed to take advantage of natural ventilation, with numerous retractable surfaces, yet it can be closed up for complete privacy – and it can be made airtight enough to operate as a mobile medical unit or laboratory.

The potential uses for CMAX's portable fold-up buildings are almost limitless – temporary storage, shelter, living or working quarters for everyone at an affordable price. Many a race team would have one or more, as would construction companies, mining companies, party, events and outdoor hire companies.