How many houses, without preservatives in the wood, would rot and be rebuilt, compared to 100% concrete/rock housing?
And with each rebuild, comes all the wiring, plumbing, which is rarely recycled well, and recycling isn't environmentally cost free.
ICF seems a good idea to me.
This isn't a great comparison, as unreinforced concrete is not used for structures. If you're speaking about steel reinforced concrete, they usually have a lifespan in the 100 year range for something protected from the elements like structural walls (assuming the aggregate is well chosen to avoid sulphate attack). For comparison, much of the housing stock in my area is stick framed and is of a similar age - ~70 years.
For instance, wood laid horizontally in water doesn’t wick water as far as wood standing vertically in water. If you look at deck and house designs you see a lot of horizontal pieces. Especially in new construction.
That said, letting water pool at the corner of your house can eat your foundation too. Water is bad. Get rid of it.
Moisture can come from the air, and damaged/poor air separation. Insects are, well, they're insects.
And of course, there are mice, ground squirrels, and other critters which chew on wood relentlessly. If I didn't kill 100+ mice a year, and a few ground squirrels, I'd be up to my elbows in critters, not to mention, dead from the hantavirus, and my house burned down from wire damage.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLsyCFICnr819K6cWPGm1...
And it only "helps" if the future owner doesn't decide to destroy it and build something else anyway
https://constructionphysics.substack.com/p/how-to-design-a-h...