Yeah, you have to design the wheel as a whole with the number of spokes in mind. You need a rim that's stiffer so you don't end up with an S-shape snake of a rim that wobbles between spokes. The individual spokes on the 16h are also tensioned much higher than each spoke on the 32h for the same load-carrying capacity, almost twice as much. That's why they're big fat heavy-duty spokes on the 16h rims.

While your original idea will work, it will be a weak wheel. It will carry you around with no problems, but... it will be much, much closer to its limit than the 32h build. Hitting potholes, big bumps, bunny-hopping kerbs won't be as strong as with a wheel that's intentionally designed for 16h.