This ReCon Project, developed at Austria's Graz University of Technology (TU Graz), proposes a hook-and-loop fastening system for wall surfaces.

While a true hook-and-loop arrangement (like that used in Velcro) isn't possible with rigid surfaces, the research team came up with a close approximation. Protrusions were cast into concrete, and a flexible sheet material was 3D printed with corresponding protrusions on one face, allowing the sheet to be non-permanently adhered to the concrete.

"Such hook-and-loop systems make it possible to properly separate durable load-bearing structures that are intended to last for decades from more short-lived elements such as installations, surfaces, floors or non-load-bearing interior walls," the researchers write.

That's an intriguing proposal. I've recently had to replace subflooring and flooring, and am currently in the process of removing several hundred square feet of old wallpaper; both are messy, time-consuming jobs. Imagine a future where those things could simply be peeled off and replaced!