Even brick masonry now is split-face and limited to at-grade elevations.
Speaking of reinventing, I'm still waiting on Elon Musk's eco-bricks [1] and whenever foamed metals [2] become popular.
[1] - https://interestingengineering.com/boring-companys-eco-brick...
[2] - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_foam