Definition of Architecture from famous Architects:

1- Architecture is by definition a very collaborative process." - Joshua Prince-Ramus

2- Architecture is a way of seeing, thinking and questioning our world and our place in it."
- Thom Mayne 
3-  "Architecture is the art and science of making sure that our cities and buildings actually
fit with the way we want to live our lives: the process of manifesting our society into our
physical world. - Bjarke Ingels 
4-  "Architecture is the most powerful deed that a man can imagine." - Ben van Berkel and
Caroline Bos

Role of Architects:
having central role in the office as architect has a several advantages, such as the focus is on user
involvement, learning and the ability of architectural programmers to deliver an appropriate
curriculum to the architects of the future.

The role of architecture is to manage both good aesthetics and functionality connected with user
requirements, in which intuition plays a part.(Architectural management book).

The architect should initiate the dialogue and maintain good communication between the client,
building users and the professional team using a variety of media and tools.

-Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA, n.d.) An architect is a design professional who uses
his creativity and working knowledge of structures and materials to provide living, working and
recreational environments. To design these environments, an architect combines the practical
considerations of the site, the clients' needs and costs with a creative understanding of materials,
aesthetics, and the cultural and physical contexts. Architects are not just concerned with
buildings but with improving the built environment as a whole; they have to balance the private
needs of their clients with the interest of the community at large (ARCHITECTURE PRACTICE IN THE
DIGITAL AGE: HOW TECHNOLOGY WILL CHANGE THE PROFESSION).
 Figure 1Responsibility of an architect (image from SIA website)

Defining the Architect’s Role from Murat Erder and Pierre Pureur:

A few aspects that will help us define the architect’s role

Unit of Work:
They believe that an architect’s basic unit of work is the architectural decision. Any architectural
activity’s most important output is the set of decisions made along the software development
journey. Surprisingly, most organizations expend little effort on making and documenting
architectural decisions consistently and clearly. So, They propose that an architect’s key
responsibility is to drive architectural decisions to a conclusion.

Product Focus:
In the context of a single product, architects are key product team members. Their main
responsibility is to balance the client’s demands as represented by the product manager, with the
delivery focus provided by the product delivery manager (see Figure 2).
 Figure 2As product team members, architects must balance client demands as

The architect as enabler

It is important to maintain a creative and generous working climate early on in a building project,
especially when users are involved. This dynamic and creative process is a learning process
calling for the right attitude towards the task and an efficient dialogue and co-operation between
the actors. The architect is, arguably, best placed to guide the building users through the dynamic
design process, enabling clear and productive dialogue and helping to stimulate interaction and
hence keep the creative process alive. To achieve good results as an enabler the architect needs
certain skills and experience and needs to draw on a variety of architectural management models
and methods to support the participatory process.
User requirements and demands must be understood by all, and in cultivating such understanding
the architect can assume the roles of interpreter, enabler and guide. Performing an enabling and
communicating function, while maintaining a holistic view of the process, and requires better
knowledge of economics, management and social psychology to inform the decision-making
process, i.e. a better understanding of architectural management. Architects should take the role
as teacher, leading the client and users through the building process with the ultimate aim of
enriching the creative process (Svetoft, 2005). This may be an important role for architects to
reclaim after some decades of focusing too much on aesthetics.

Factor of Architects role:

Education and knowledge as well as the ability to co-operate and communicate seem to be
important for a positive work outcome. Cultural traditions, competition from other actors and
client expectations (based on stereotypical views) can also restrain architects from fully
developing their role. If these traditions are to change, then the surrounding structures and actors
must allow and support it, or alternatively traditions must be confronted.

Dalholm (2000) found that some architects may feel threatened by the prospect of
involving the user in the design process. Such involvement may be seen negatively by
architects as interfering with their work and reducing their ‘space’ to create something
exclusively that is not tainted by the ideas of others.

Customer-focused planning and design

Sahlin-Andersson (1989) describes the opportunities for architects to take on the task of
monitoring the confusion, chaos and complexity of architectural design projects, so as to have
the possibility of changing the design as needed during the process. She refers to March (1976)
who describes how in unclear situations development can be supported by a ‘sensible technology
of foolishness’. This means that goals should be shaped by action and experience, and that goals
established early in a process may impose unnecessary limitations. March describes the
possibilities of working more experimentally and how it can be easier to add new ideas to an
ongoing development process in the absence of traditional goals and programmers. Treating
goals as hypotheses allows us to change how we work and helps us to develop unusual
combinations of attitudes and behaviors.

Learning:

To achieve collective design the interactions between the creative design processes of individual
design actors must be stimulated and guided.

Bolman and Deal (1997) claim that when people do not understand the dynamics of a system
they defend themselves and blame the problems on someone else.

They refer to Argylis and Schön (1978, 1996) suggesting that there can also be diffi culties in
admitting the problem, which makes it even harder to deal with. However, there is no reason
why the structure underlying the building process could not be regarded as a learning
organization and theorizing in this area could well be useful.

Learning as a process of social participation:

Johnson et al. (1991) refer to various literature that describe the positive effects and power of
cooperative interaction. There seems to be a synergy that produces the most effective method for
generating creative thinking when several people focus cooperatively on the same problem,
which Hill (1966) refers to as a ‘mastermind method’. If the reward system is based on favors
awarded for individual performance there will be obstacles in a culture of reliance on team
efforts.
One major outcome of cooperative learning is that people who work together develop positive
relationships that are essential for motivating long-term achievement efforts and for healthy
social, cognitive and psychological development. It also increases the willingness to take on
difficult tasks and supplies motivation and persistence in working towards the goal.
The culture of the temporary project organization is of great importance to support the role of the
architect and other actors involved. Kaufman and Kaufman (1996) discuss fundamental
dimensions in the organizational culture, describing four values by J. Martin: the level of
sensibility towards the client, freedom to initiate new ideas, willingness to tolerate risks and
openness towards possibilities to communicate. A strong culture and organization share these
fundamental values.

Architectural education in Sweden

According to Emmitt (1999), if creative design is to flourish, architectural management
techniques and tools must be effectively applied, and this must start in architectural education.
The Swedish educational system is creating individuals who tend to stick to traditionally defined
roles, which may be inappropriate for a dynamic and quickly changing industry.

Official descriptions of architectural curricula at the three Swedish universities indicate that they
teach tools with which to express aesthetic ideas. The curricula also give students the opportunity
to become acquainted with the architect’s tasks and methods. In the general description of the
architect’s working role none of the schools describes the pedagogical role that must be taken on
when the user is involved in the building process. In the more detailed descriptions of the
schools’ programs, differences are apparent in how much each school focuses on the user. KTH
describes architecture as the broad subject that deals with complex systems depending on and
emerging from a large number of aspects. The communication skills that are provided give
insight into how to handle the methods and tools of the architect to express his or her ideas.
Chalmers describes the need to develop the ability to incorporate various aspects and interests
into a unified whole. The ability to work cooperatively with others can mean working
successfully in the professional team with different engineers and consultants.
The school in Lund has the most explicitly stated ambition with respect to addressing issues
concerning user involvement in the building process. The description talks about developing
products and environments for everyday use, with the human being in focus. Here the technology
is concerned more directly with the needs of the user than on the development of the product.
The architect’s role is an example of a life-long learning process in which experience shows one
how to work and improve one’s skill. Third year students at the architectural university in Lund
were interviewed and they expressed concern about the gap between theoretical and practical
skills. Preparation for their working life and the role of handling the creative and dynamic
process is of great importance. Some of this knowledge can be regarded as ‘silent’ knowledge
and must be experienced. To practise the role in working life is maybe the best way to learn
these skills. There are also diffi culties and obstacles inherent in the traditional role of the lone
architect, the arbiter of good taste and design. In this tradition, making a compromise is like
surrender and dialogue with the user is of no use. One’s attitude towards the role of the architect
and awareness of the attendent responsibilities is often formed during one’s education. The
students at Lund University are eager to help create a better society and a better built
environment. They also long to be part of the whole building process. Co-operating with the
other actors involved and trying to better understand the users’ needs and requirements are also
part of their outlook. Several students can also perceive the positive effects of exchanging
knowledge with the users involved, and they can even grasp the democratic issue of involving
citizens in the design of the built environment. This way of working, however, demands
communication and co-operation skills and entails playing a pedagogical role when handling the
process.
It would seem that Swedish architectural education focuses too narrowly on aesthetics and on
giving students the tools with which to express themselves graphically. There seems to be a lack
of knowledge of the methods and models to use when communicating and maintaining a holistic
view. The communicating and cooperating architect must have better knowledge of economics,
law, management and social psychology.

Opportunities
The Swedish Association of Architects is working with the possibilities of a more international
role for (Swedish) architects. To aid the development of a broad and responsible role they have
listed the most important goals for architectural education, and several aspects of the user are
mentioned in this list. Both in a theoretical and practical sense it is important to understand the
architect’s role and to have the ability to meet the needs of the user within the frames of
economics and regulations.

Conclusion
If more time and resources are used in the early stages of the building process, the end product
will probably be more adapted for its use. An interesting idea could be to add values when
involving users and integrating their requirements. The cultural clash between the chaotic and
complex design process and the restrained culture of management can give rise to both
opportunities and obstacles. If the appropriate role is given to the architect and if the architect’s
attitude towards the task is appropriate, user involvement in the design process can be positively
affected. Architectural education programs should develop the appropriate skills to help create
architects who are able to manage the process and guide the user to create and realize buildings
that add real value.
 Architects role in digital age

Definition of digital age in architecture:

We live in the digital age, where visual communication is everything. In this era even
architecture is transforming, the facades are changing and adapting to prevailing trends – they
experience themselves in color, forms, light, twist and iconic exercises. Architects lead them to
the limit, physically and conceptually.
Rules of proportion and other old teachings of balances, etc. are all sidelined. Everything is
abandoned in favor of a general dematerialization together with the desire to emergence at all
costs (https://www.archiobjects.org/the-architecture-evolution-the-digital-age/).

The influence of digital age and information technology on architecture is increasingly evident.
Architectural design, practice, fabrication and construction are increasingly aided by and
dependent on digital technology( Architecture in the digital age: The effect of digital media on the design,
production and evaluation of the built environment).

Reason of why in today's architectures requirements to use to digital age

Repeated project cost and timeline overruns have demonstrated, though, that trying to plan all
features and decide the system structure early in a project is difficult at best. This insight,
coupled with the increasing demand for delivering high-quality software more quickly, has
changed how development teams approach architectural decision making (G. Hohpe, I. Ozkaya, U.
Zdun and O. Zimmermann, "The Software Architect's Role in the Digital Age," in IEEE Software, vol. 33, no. 6, pp.
30-39, Nov.-Dec. 2016, doi: 10.1109/MS.2016.137.).

With the progressive state of architectural tooling, as well as technological advances in digital
and computational design, conflicts between corporations and bottom-up developers have
become increasingly evident (https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7725214?denied=).

Expectations from digital age

1- The delivery Speed 2- Involving clients e during in the project

3- Making difficult forms

The first Crystal Palaces and Eiffel Towers of the new Information Age have just been built over the past
few years. Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao (figure 1.3) is probably the best known example
that captures the zeitgeist of the digital information revolution, whose consequences for the building
industry are likely to be on a scale similar to those of the industrial revolution: the Information Age, just
like the Industrial Age before, is challenging not only how we design buildings, but also how we
manufacture and construct them.
It is only within the last few years that the advances in computer-aided design (CAD) technologies have
started to have an impact on building design and construction practices. They opened up new
opportunities by allowing production and construction of very complex forms that were, until recently,
very difficult and expensive to design, produce and assemble using traditional construction technologies.
A new digital continuum, a direct link from design through to construction, is established through digital
technologies.

New digital architectures are emerging from the digital revolution, architectures that have found their
expression in highly complex, curvilinear forms that will gradually enter the mainstream of architectural
practice in the coming years. What unites digital architects, designers and thinkers is not a desire to
“blobify” all and everything, but the use of digital technology as an enabling device that directly
integrates conception and production in ways that are unprecedented since the medieval times of
master builders.

What is the digital age in Architect

In today’s economy, technology is part of every single aspect of our life. Digital architecture
uses computer aided design, programming, simulation and images to create virtual forms and
physical structures. The same can be said to refer to other aspects of architecture that are defined
by digital technologies. Today’s technological advancements have even brought Virtual Reality
and Augmented Reality to the use in architecture.

Virtual Spaces Digital Architecture

Digital architecture is not limited to concepts and ideas, but also represents spaces that require
human interaction, like the virtual environments created in games. During the recent years, the
term virtual and virtual space, has become a central part of our culture. These terms have
different meanings depending on the context, from the imaginary aspect to metaphysics and
high-tech.

No limits
Digital Architecture removes the possible limitations an architect might have when creating
complex forms through computer algorithms. This new field also enhances the possible
outcomes in terms of design, sparking debates about the role of technology in our society and
also creating non-standard forms that have come to life from architects like Zaha Hadid or UN
Studio.
Figure 3Heydar Aliyev Center Zaha Hadid Architects Project in Baku, Azerbaijan - Winner of the award: Design of the Year 2014
from the Design Museum in London Digital Architecture
Digital Architecture & Data Digital Architecture
Data in architecture is not that new however with the recent development of IOT Devices data
has now a different and more important meaning. Customers now want to read that data and
access it on a daily basis, and not leave it there for the firms or architects.

IOT

What is the IOT Digital Architecture?

Today’s customers wants to know more about their building. They want to have automated
thermostats that learn their behaviors and connect with them, they want doors and windows that
can be opened with mobile apps, they want automated safety systems, they want to know how
much power is their house consuming on their smartphone, etc. Having these many internet
connected devices in mind, it’s important to emphasize that buildings built today are more
quality and performance oriented and way more innovative then those built in the past. And you
cannot simply built them anymore just like that.

Some of the ways how IOT Devices can be used: - Monitoring - Inspection - Energy saving -
Security - Automatization - Remote Control
Media

Besides the data, the architectural creations of today also create media through users or on their
own. If a building is cool, innovative or has a unique architecture, people come there to take a
selfie to post on Facebook, post a tweet on Twitter or what else. This creates interaction,
visibility, engagement and connection with other users and makes a new type of marketing, that
wasn’t thought of in the past.

Software
Digital Architecture cannot exist without the software. These include software like:
Software Autodesk 3DSMax
Rhino
Sketch up
Fuzo VR
IRIS VR

The Most Used Computer Application (Software) Fig9:

3D Printing Digital Architecture

3D Printing is an important component of Digital Architecture.
Speed, visualization and cost reduction - With 3D printing, companies now are able to deliver
faster to customers, be more visible and save a lot of money.
Scale & Details - The 3D printed models can have different sizes and the amount of details is
remarkable compared to methods used in the past.
Freedom - 3D printers give creators the freedom to create models that they would not be able to
create through methods used in the past.
.

Figure 4 3D Printing Robot

The first 3D printed house!

Beijing sees the world's first 3D-printed house, which architects say may mark to lead a home-
building revolution. This house built in 2016.
The two-storey house in Beijing's district was completed in only 45 days thanks to non-stop
printing. This is believed to be the first one of its kind built as many cases were printed in
separate parts before being pieced together. The house, with walls as thick as 0.24 meters, covers
an area of 400 square meters. It can withstand an earthquake that measures eight on the Richter
scale.