<b><b>Brick and block in decline? No way. Both sectors have responded positively to changes in regulations and working practices to ensure that their products are still relevant and acceptable to the housebuilding industry. Tim Palmer reports on the latest innovations and a reshuffle in the block market</b></b><br><b>For the majority of traditional British housebuilders building in brick and block, new standards (Parts L and E) emphasise just how the industry is changing. Certainly, to continue using traditional techniques means adjustment; for example, thicker walls accommodating more insulation in wider cavities. Alternatives, however, mean a complete rethink and the application of different techniques such as timber or steel frame construction which, despite the hype, are relatively unfamiliar to many UK builders. </b><br><b><b>meeting the challenge</b></b><br> Brick and block manufacturers have met the challenge head on. H+H Celcon and Laing Partnership have built the first UK houses using Jamera - large steel reinforced aircrete building elements - for the whole house structure in Seabright Street, a Bethnal Green and Victoria Park Housing Association project. The three, two and three-storey houses combine reinforced concrete floor, roof and lintel elements - all fabricated off-site - with aircrete foundations and Celcon Solar block and Thin-Joint solid walls. …