The wooden construction typical in North America is most definitely because we have a great lumber supply, but it's also a lot stronger than simply using our bricks.

The brick you see on the outside of a typical home here wouldn't do very well to build the structure, they're very small and won't be very stable, plus not a lot of surface area for mortar. For structural construction you'd have to use much larger blocks, not the small bricks you typically see on the outside. This isn't like the three little pigs. A dimensional wooden subframe, properly sheathed and then covered in brick is a lot stronger.

If I was going custom here, I'd prefer steel i-beam and concrete (pre-poured/formed) for primary structure, along with laminated wooden beams, many of which I'd leave exposed.

Most builders here keep up to date with the current building code (barely), but as far as design goes, we're talking very little change in over 30 years. Everything in my town for instance is still built with styling cues dating back to victorian times. It's the rare exception that isn't completely dated/old/traditional looking, and then it only happens with a truly custom build.