Confusion about what the pronoun refers to [duplicate]

Solution 1:

"It" in that context is a preparatory subject, so it refers to "to create buildings that are not simply constructions but also offer inspiration and delight." Were you to rephrase that sentence without the preparatory subject "it," you'd write:

"To create buildings that are not simply constructions but also offer inspiration and delight is the work of architects."

Rephrasing your sentence as shown above eliminates the preparatory subject and replaces the pronoun "it" with the actual subject, illustrating that "it" in your sentence must refer to "to create buildings that are not simply constructions but also offer inspiration and delight" as its antecedent, "antecedent" being a misnomer in situations like this since what the pronoun refers to comes post rather than ante.