As the digital economy changes the rules of the game for enterprises, the role of software and IT architects is also transforming. Rather than focus on technical decisions alone, architects and senior technologists need to combine organizational and technical knowledge to effect change in their company’s structure and processes. To accomplish that, they need to connect the IT engine room to the penthouse, where the business strategy is defined. In this guide, author Gregor Hohpe shares real-world advice and hard-learned lessons from actual IT transformations. His anecdotes help architects, senior developers, and other IT professionals prepare for a more complex but rewarding role in the enterprise. This book is ideal for: Software architects and senior developers looking to shape the company’s technology direction or assist in an organizational transformation Enterprise architects and senior technologists searching for practical advice on how to navigate technical and organizational topics CTOs and senior technical architects who are devising an IT strategy that impacts the way the organization works IT managers who want to learn what’s worked and what hasn’t in large-scale transformation

The product of an innovative research project realized in cooperation between three Swiss universities--École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne's School of Architecture, the College of Architecture and Technology in Fribourg, and the University of Fribourg--the smart living lab is a research and development center for the built environment of the future. This high-tech structure also serves as an emblem of the cooperative's aim to translate academic research into actual buildings. A new series of books entitled Towards 2050 will showcase the ambitious undertaking at various stages. The inaugural volume in the series, Thinking highlights preliminary research from the smart living lab and considers visions for sustainable buildings. Featuring interviews with leading experts, the book lays out the myriad challenges and opportunities the project is likely to face, as well as its considerable potential to drive change.

For courses in engineering and technical management Architecture and Function of Complex Systems System architecture is the study of early decision making in complex systems. This text teaches how to capture experience and analysis about early system decisions, and how to choose architectures that meet stakeholder needs, integrate easily, and evolve flexibly. With case studies written by leading practitioners, from hybrid cars to communications networks to aircraft, this text showcases the science and art of system architecture.

Blaine Brownell's best-selling Transmaterial series has introduced designers to hundreds of emergent materials that have the potential to transform our built environment. In our new Architecture Brief, Material Strategies, Brownell shows architects how creative applications of these materials achieve such transformations. Chapters based on fundamental material categories examine historical precedents, current opportunities, and future environmental challenges. Case studies featuring detailed illustrations showcase pioneering buildings from today's most forward-thinking architectural firms.

"Ready or not, it’s high time to make BIM a part of your practice, or at least your vocabulary, and this book has as much to offer beginners as it does seasoned users of building information modeling software." —Chicago Architect The first book devoted to the subject of how BIM affects individuals and organizations working within the ever-changing construction industry, BIM and Integrated Design discusses the implementation of building information modeling software as a cultural process with a focus on the technology’s impact and transformative effect—both potentially disruptive and liberating—on the social, psychological, and practical aspects of the workplace. BIM and Integrated Design answers the questions that BIM poses to the firm that adopts it. Through thorough research and a series of case study interviews with industry leaders—and leaders in the making out from behind the monitor—BIM and Integrated Design helps you learn: Effective learning strategies for fully understanding BIM software and its use Key points about integrated design to help you promote the process to owners and your team How BIM changes not only the technology, process, and delivery but also the leadership playing field How to become a more effective leader no matter where you find yourself in the organization or on the project team How the introduction of BIM into the workforce has significant education, recruitment, and training implications Covering all of the human issues brought about or exacerbated by the advent of BIM into the architecture workplace, profession, and industry, BIM and Integrated Design shows how to overcome real and perceived barriers to its use.

This book is a compilation of lectures given to students at the Harvard Graduate School of Design on the work of contemporary architects.