In the end, the determination of both Encompass developers and Postnuke Core Leadership is that it would be in the best interest of Postnuke to not merge the Encompass and BlockLayout projects. The BlockLayout engine has progressed well into its development and all involoved parties feel that a merger of the two projects would not only be counter-productive, but also not in the best interest of the community. Postnuke Core Leadership does not support Encompass and the Encompass development team does not support Postnuke Leadership's decision making processes.
For those interested, you can read an in-depth article at The MADhatt Project.