This is awesome (as well as the ball of mud "paper").
I think the building construction analogy might be similar to a home which has seen multiple remodels.
Now imagine a scenario where you have an absentee owner with a lot of money, a permanently staffed architect and a bunch of extremely able, slightly competitive contractors all on staff - each trying to prove their annual salary.
The original one story building would quickly become an ten story nightmare of a building.
Just another example of Silicon Valley being ahead of its time: The Winchester House is pretty much exactly this. It used to be 5 stories, too, until the 1906 quake gave it a haircut.
I think the building construction analogy might be similar to a home which has seen multiple remodels.
Now imagine a scenario where you have an absentee owner with a lot of money, a permanently staffed architect and a bunch of extremely able, slightly competitive contractors all on staff - each trying to prove their annual salary.
The original one story building would quickly become an ten story nightmare of a building.