Although flying cars are still sometime away, science fiction-like floating concrete and styrofoam houses have become reality.

Somers Construction Limited is pioneering the Blue Max system of building homes using styrofoam moulds at the Palmetto Bay condominium, currently rising over Flatts village.

The system is a series of puzzle-shaped styrofoam blocks that are placed together. Builders pour concrete into a cavity in the mould.

Space for wiring and plumbing are cut from the mould and drywall is installed on the inside of the building, and plaster is applied to the outside.

Somers general manager Ken McClure said the system is working out very well.

"This is our second project,'' he said.

"We built a house in Paget and the owners and tenant are very, very happy with the electricity bill.

"(The material) is very light and easy to use, as opposed to a concrete block and it's a great insulator as well and reduces heating and cooling bills,'' he said.

The Palmetto Bay project will utilise the styrofoam to provide sound, heat and cold insulation as well as a reduced threat of insect infestation.

Mr. McClure said there will be a less space in the walls for insects to live and breed.

And the building methods were also very durable, he said.

"It's as strong -- or stronger (than traditional houses) because within the cavity, it is a concrete building.

"The electrical, and mechanical, is cut from the styrofoam and all the wiring is done before the plaster is applied. "On the inside, we will install dry wall in slates and the outside will be covered with a plastered system. It will look like in block building.

"And it is a little faster (to build). I think as the men get a little more experienced it will be built quicker,'' he said.

Mr. McClure said other buildings would move along quicker because he hired a foreign instructor to teach the workers on the Palmetto Bay condo project.

"We have brought in an instructor from overseas that has done a course with our men on site and those that stick with it will become certified installers,'' he said.

However, industry insiders said the benefits of the new system will come at a price.

One construction material supplier, who asked not to be named, said similar structures in the US last approximately 15 years.

"(The material) doesn't provide long life,'' he said.

The supplier said the plaster on the outside of the building is held in place with glue and can be susceptible to moisture.

The trend for new, innovative building material continues to evolve, with the introduction of a `floating' cement, cement that literally floats on water.

Regular cement blocks are laced with hundreds of small polystyrene balls, and further insulated with another material. The blocks are lighter, easier to manipulate and can float in water without the support of pontoons.

The US inventor has recently contacted a Bermudian-owned construction supplier firm who hopes to introduce the new material to the Island.

Filling in: Workers fill styrofoam wall moulds with cement at the Palmetto Bay condo site.