Another thing re: wall thickness to think about is there wasn’t steel-reinforced anything, and in an area without lots of trees, there wasn’t much solid timber for beams either. So you get “structural brick” which has to be much thicker on the lower floors than the brick facades you see today, on buildings with steel support beams. Structural brick makes for FAT walls esp if it’s supporting a 2nd story.
Another thing re: wall thickness to think about is there wasn’t steel-reinforced anything, and in an area without lots of trees, there wasn’t much solid timber for beams either. So you get “structural brick” which has to be much thicker on the lower floors than the brick facades you see today, on buildings with steel support beams. Structural brick makes for FAT walls esp if it’s supporting a 2nd story.