The Technology
Not since the Pyramids were built 4000 years ago has brick technology changed so much (Ya they were probably moulded brick too and not carved rock). Anyway bricks have been the most reliable building material on the planet for millennia and that did not look like changing until recently. While the the technology for aerating cement has actually existed for about 70 years it has only been recently that it has found a mainstream commercial market and started to replace other building methods as the cheap reliable building technology of the future.
The reason is mostly cost saving associated with the speed that a aircrete block home can be erected with these light weight bricks. It is also a very good insulator as opposed to normal brick with absorbs heat and then gives it back latter. The bubbles in the aircrete are very stable and do not allow water absorption into the cement. So if you are looking for a great new building material have another look at aircrete blocks.
Lets face it, the largest unsupported cement dome is in the Vatican
This block is a light weight Aircrete cement block that is moulded with interconnecting joints on the top and the bottom. The size is 600mm wide x 230mm High x 155mm wide. It has 4 specially designed holes that assist in making it lighter and more insulating. These holes can be used for steel reinforcing or core filling the blocks for extra strength if needed. These blocks cover at about 7 blocks per square meter and they weigh about 20kg each.
Above: The Pantheon remains the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome, almost 2,000 years after it was completed. Commissioned as a Roman Temple during the reign of Augustus, the building was completed by emperor Hadrian in around 126 AD
When people talk about the environmental cost of cement houses over the cost of cheap timber construction, I am sure they are not considering that a well built Cement structure like this can last for 1000's of years. It really is a durable building material unfortunately modern structures use steel reo and the steel is what rusts over time and breaks the concrete cement apart.
The Great wall of china, another example of well built brick technology. In places they even used fibre reinforced bricks and mortar similar to the technology we have developed for our Fibre Reinforced Aircrete interlocking bricks.