It’s one of the few places in the world where wood is the dominant material used in new-home construction—90% of homes built in 2019 were wood-framed, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
despite lumber shortage and wildfires, tornados and wood eating insects
Lumber is cheap, concrete is expensive. If the US were to switch to concrete, construction would become substantially more expensive everywhere in the world.
It’s not like you can’t use concrete in the US even if you want to. Commercial architecture and public infrastructure use it all the time.
What are they built from then?
Wood and sheetrock
Wood mostly.
https://time.com/6046368/wood-steel-houses-fires/
despite lumber shortage and wildfires, tornados and wood eating insects
Lumber is cheap, concrete is expensive. If the US were to switch to concrete, construction would become substantially more expensive everywhere in the world.
It’s not like you can’t use concrete in the US even if you want to. Commercial architecture and public infrastructure use it all the time.
Bricks aren’t uncommon for commercial buildings, though they’re often painted or otherwise different colors.
Bare brick boxes are very indicative of long-gone industry, but it’s not the bricks themselves that are truly to blame for giving that impression.