Japan 3D-Prints a Train Station in Six Hours—and Everything Else You Need to Know About This Week

• In Ohio’s Amish country, E-bikes are zipping past horse-drawn buggies, as if the future is lapping the past. Now the divided community has to decide whether the bikes are a modern convenience or a threat to tradition. (The Wall Street Journal)

•  Japan built the world’s first 3D-printed train station in just six hours—offering a fast, cost-cutting solution to rural rail challenges amid a shrinking population. Here’s how they did it. (The New York Times)

• Locked out of New York City by strict, short-term rental laws, Airbnb is pouring $5 million into a SuperPAC to back election candidates who support loosening those restrictions—and the city’s powerful hotel industry is not happy. (Gothamist)

• Contracting work has devolved into a ruthless grind of cut-rate bids and illegal labor practices, driving even the most skilled workers out of the industry. One Connecticut homebuilder shares just how bad things have become. (The New York Times)

• Dwell’s executive editor, Kate Dries, visited Stockholm recently to preview the 40th anniversary of Ikea’s Stockholm collection, which was just released. While there, she asked the company’s designers which items they keep for themselves. (Dwell)

Top image courtesy of Serendix Inc./neuob Inc.