Uno, can you give us a specific example of a design for the exterior of a building resembling that of a line of 1x1x5 bricks? Because usually, the outside of a building has horizontal lines since it is more weather resistant than vertical ones. Since vertical lines on the exterior of a building are so uncommon, the excuse of using it for design is nullified in most Blocklander's minds. However, brick walls have the alternating pattern as Antallion showed this topic. As such, it follows a real work design and is more accepted for such a purpose.
If this really doesn't help you understand, I give up.