Science, Research and Technology, have always ruled and made corporations and nations richer. Most in Sub-Saharan Africa were slow in catching up with the Industrial, Electric, Electronic, Software Revolutions, and NanoTechnology. However, some of them have been seizing on the current chance to catch up with the quiet revolution in Construction Technology.

In the construction of shopping malls, pavements, architectural structures, foundations, highways/roads, overpasses, parking structures, brick/block walls and footings for gates, fences and poles, buildings and runways, cement has been the major component. However, cement is very expensive as a binder, a substance which sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The most important use of cement is the production of mortar and concrete - the bonding of natural or artificial aggregates to form a strong building material which is durable in the face of normal environmental effects. There have been many problems with cement. Cement Blocks crack, and are not fire nor water proof, leading to mold mildew, and termite problems. They are also weak in tensile strength, thus requiring Rebar (Iron Rods).

Over the last 20 years, researchers and engineers have been quietly using many alternatives that are far superior in strength, are environmentally friendlier to save our planet, reduce energy costs to land developers and home owners by using compressed earth bricks (CEBs) and clay. "Quietly" because the cement industry, like the oil industry, is powerful, well entrenched and resist changes that threaten their profits.

In places like South Africa, Canada, China and the Philippines, CEBs have accelerated development and economic growth with lower cost production bricks. Many such companies are now gaining acceptance in places like Ghana and wining contracts to develop residential communities, schools and hospitals.

One advantage of CEBs is that they tend to use most of the earth (mud) right from the site, and with some clay and small amounts of patented chemicals, use special but simple machines to produce the blocks on site, thus eliminating the transportation costs of importing cement. Since they are earth based they possess the properties of mud houses in the villages of Ghana, the same concept behind the "cooler" flask that keeps water cool. It keeps the heat out during the day and retains the warmth inside at nite, thus reducing heating and air-conditioning costs by more than 50%.

In the USA, with some serious climatic conditions like Hurricanes and Floods in Florida, Earthquakes and Forest Fires in California, when engineers at Aeonian Brick Homes heard about CEBs they went to South Africa, China, Ghana, and Canada, to see what they were doing with CEBs, and had more drastic conditions in mind. They also had some stringent state certification and approval requirements to pass.

After 3 years and almost a million dollars in a research facility, using state of the art technology and testing procedures, they developed the Aeonian Brick which was certified for use in 34 US states. This process can sometimes take up to 10years with new technologies. The US Dept of Energy is trying to build a zero energy home by 2020 and they are interested in these bricks. They offered free testing at Oakridge for insulation values that were not even required by the 34 states to test for because AEONIAN wanted to reduce energy costs significantly, but not by 100%! This recognition by the Federal Government is a worthy indicator to the quality of a product.

They currently have a long list of orders on schools and customized homes, both in the USA and West Africa. Apart from the many advantages, like environmental and thermal, the bottom line is COSTS, and they build their homes and commercial facilities with huge savings from traditional project estimates.

Their technology is ideal for the current construction boom in developing countries and they have had many Land Developers from abroad visit , inspect, test their bricks before submitting orders to build.

Aeonian Technology handles Floods and Fires easily. It also does not require Rebar (Iron Rods), Mortar, Dry Wall and a host of other Processes that make current methods cumbersome and expensive. The Interlocking Feature of the blocks creates a Monolithic Structure. Unique Design allows easy insertion of Pipes, Fiber Optic and Electric wires.

The Aeonian Brick Total Building System offers:

· Interlocking Blocks that do not use mortar or plaster for structural strength

· High Finish Design & Aesthetics

· Speedier Construction

· Simplicity of Use

· Cost Efficient

· High Quality Product

· Environmentally Friendly - No firing of Bricks required

· Training and technical support

· Can be used without plastering

· Suitable for earth quake resistant construction

· Local unskilled labor can be used for construction of building shell

· Built in chase for electrical wires and plumbing

Aeonian Bricks developed with state of the art high tech methods, under more stringent US requirements, and did international research and cooperating to ultimately came out with superior products, at over 3000p.s.i, addresses all issues, especially strength and structural integrity, from residential communities to land developers with hundreds of acres for shopping malls. They also offer their our own Hurricane Proof Roofing Systems and are looking into Solar and Wind Power for homes.

Further savings in building costs are from the use of very few skilled personnel who can train more unskilled labor in a few days to complete projects.

Those that recognize the evolution in technology and take quick action are those that gain the most. Inertia is the drag that keeps others stuck in the old ways that are no longer economically viable.

The secret to Aeonian lies in the organic enzyme of their patented chemical, which tends to bind and not crack under stress or heat. This article was prepared from an interview conducted with Chris Hooper Aerospace Engineer and Researcher (NASA) Consulting Engineer Aeonian Brick Homes LLC Orlando, Florida Contact - EMC2CORP@YAHOO.COM - Environmental MethodsOfConstruction2Corporations