Would definitely need some rebalancing for a multiplayer setting with a lot of players, but this sounds like a blast with a group of friends who are also into the idea.
Every wood type is good, imo. You just have to find the context to use it in. I think birch houses are especially beautiful in a setting with a lot of flowers, and in your typical oak or spruce houses, birch logs make for a fantastic rug or wall decor, imo.
Both have their strengths, and are competent versions of MC. but I overall prefer Java. Partly because it's the version I've always played on, but, I find bedrock's menus extremely unintuitive, and I have to completely restart the game to get the title screen to load half the time, even on the more stable versions like the Xbox One version.