Labour laws? Minimum wages? Health benefits for workers? Clients? Financing? Unions? Politicians? Material speccing? The OBC? The NBC? The ADA? The AODA? Zoning by-laws? Official Plans? Urban Design Guidelines? Heritage Conservation Districts?
Buildings are more than just pretty, plastic forms. There are many forces at work shaping any given building's 'design,' often for years before even the most keen keyboard jockey is able to find a preliminary render in some unsearched corner of the internet. Really, the idea of someone (as talented as Julien, no doubt (or Peter, for a more local example)) simply sitting down and saying 'here's what we're going to do, it'll be a 'special opportunity'' is inaccurate and quaint.