Brick houses do exist in abundance in US, especially in older cities. Take New York City as an example. Most old buildings are not a simple brick veneer.Crux of argument: A dominant characteristic of any dwelling for humans is control of temperature and sun’s radiant heat in a narrow range.Brick or masonry by itself is not suitable for very cold climate. It has a high thermal mass; ordinary stones or masonry has thermal mass equal to an equivalent volume of water.Insulation must be provided inside a brick structure in temperate climate. Vacuum is the best insulator, followed by gases or air. Most insulation works on the principle of locking in air. An insulator which has cells so small that convecting air currents do not form, are better than other ones which lack this property.Wood is an excellent insulator with good structural strength. It is often used high up in Himalayas. Other equivalent insulators could be cow dung smeared on stone walls, low tech, but very high in performance at dirt cheap price. A notch up, masonry walls may have stacks of hay next to them, and seasonally removed during summers. These are the techniques in remotest of the villages, in one of the coldest areas on earth.Wood is going to stay in northern latitudes (primarily US and Canada) as a building material as long as and wherever it is easily available.