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Comment by bkmrkr | Hacker News Reader

The replacement will not be laying bricks but new technologies.

Computers didn't replace human "calculators" by using abacus.

as a counterexample your clothes are stitched with thread, even when automated. Sure the stitching is different but it's still a style that's appreciated.

like thread, maybe bricks have a place still.

I'd absolutely love to see robotic bricklaying give bricks, and along with it brick ornaments, a comeback in medium scale construction. It's the only building material that is getting prettier as it ages. Bricks built both the industrial revolution and the Roman Empire.

3D "printing" walls and entire buildings onsite from epoxy, resins or other raw materials seems the most plausible.

I'm not an environmentalist, but even I would prefer we don't graduate to epoxy or resin for home construction. These things are all petroleum based and I have to imagine they outgas for a long period of time after construction. If they do burn, they will also doubtless emit lots of toxic gasses.

I would prefer 3d printing type automation, but applied to compacted dirt or clay. I love adobe and wish it was more popular. Big thick walls that keep out the heat and the cold seem like a no-brainer, if you can reinforce them to not crush you during earthquakes.

Agreed, although we already have a significant amount of petroleum based products in modern (US, anyway) homes: insulation (more and more styrofoam), sealing wraps, glues over fasteners, flooring, and plumbing. Your basic plywood by weight is a large part resins already, although no idea the makeup.

Maybe automation will make more "organic" building materials more affordable or feasible.

Ahh the glue house.. Fantastic.. I would not live in one. Even though I already do with respect to modern materials.

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