With years of deep engagement in the digital architecture sector, Song Jing has become a key practitioner driving the field’s development, leveraging her extensive project experience and industry insights. As the digital architecture industry approaches a critical phase in 2025, she has put forward unique perspectives on core issues—including misconceptions in the industry, the balance between green and intelligent development, and talent shortages—drawing on her hands-on experience.

Currently, digital architecture has emerged as a core direction for the global construction industry’s transformation. However, the misconception that "simply stacking digital technologies equals digital architecture" remains prevalent. Some enterprises blindly adopt technologies such as BIM (Building Information Modeling) and the Internet of Things (IoT), while neglecting the development of underlying support systems, resulting in superficial digital transformation.

"Digital architecture is not a pile of technologies, but a systematic project that uses technology to restructure the entire lifecycle of a building," Song Jing emphasized when discussing industry pain points. She noted that to achieve deep integration of technology and business, three core prerequisites must first be established.

The first prerequisite is the implementation and unification of data standards. She pointed out that many small and medium-sized projects fail to strictly adopt standardized coding in practice. Even if resources are invested in building data platforms, "data silos" are easily formed, which cannot provide effective support for decision-making. "Only by promoting the implementation of standards from ‘paper’ to ‘projects’ and realizing data interconnection throughout the entire process of design, construction, and operation and maintenance can we break down information barriers," she said.

The second prerequisite is support from interdisciplinary talents. Song Jing stated that digital architecture has much higher requirements for talents than traditional fields. "Talents who understand both construction technology and proficiently use digital tools remain a ‘scarce resource’ in the industry," she explained. Many projects fail to fully implement and utilize digital technologies due to a lack of such talents.

The third prerequisite is a full-chain collaboration mechanism. Drawing on her experience in participating in large-scale projects, she mentioned that "a lack of collaboration leads to poor connection between various links, which may not only delay the project schedule but also increase additional costs." Only by establishing a collaborative system covering planning, design, construction, and operation and maintenance can digital technology truly empower the construction industry.

Driven by both the "dual carbon" goals (carbon peaking and carbon neutrality) and technological iteration, balancing green and intelligent development has become a common challenge for the global construction industry. Some enterprises blindly deploy monitoring systems in pursuit of an "intelligent label," while neglecting energy consumption optimization—ultimately leading to higher building operation costs.

Based on her experience leading projects, Song Jing proposed the core logic that "green development is the foundation, and intelligence is a means to enhance efficiency." "Intelligence divorced from green goals is essentially a waste of resources," she argued. She suggested that teams should first control energy consumption at the source through methods such as optimizing building forms and applying natural cooling technologies. On this basis, intelligent monitoring systems can then be introduced to achieve precise regulation of equipment energy consumption.

For small and medium-sized construction enterprises, she advised prioritizing the transformation of green technologies. "First, lay a solid foundation for low-carbon development, and then deploy intelligent systems according to actual needs. This approach not only controls costs but also avoids technological waste," she said.

"The shortage of digital talents has become a key bottleneck restricting the industry’s development," Song Jing admitted when discussing talent issues. She pointed out that traditional training models either focus on technology development or stick rigidly to construction expertise, making it difficult to meet the interdisciplinary needs of digital architecture.

In her view, the core to solving this dilemma lies in building an interdisciplinary training path that combines "technology + industry knowledge." From an industry practice perspective, talents in digital architecture need to master core professional knowledge such as architectural design and construction management, while proficiently using digital tools like BIM modeling and building data analysis. At the same time, they must understand the application scenarios and value of digital technology throughout the building’s lifecycle. "For example, technical personnel need to understand the actual pain points in construction to develop digital tools that better meet on-site needs; construction practitioners also need to grasp the basic logic of digital technology to better use intelligent systems to optimize work processes," Song Jing analyzed further. She noted that some enterprises in the industry have already promoted in-depth communication between technical teams and construction teams through internal job rotations and specialized training, helping employees make up for their skill gaps. This practice-oriented training model is more likely to form a talent supply that aligns with industry realities.

Addressing the talent shortage requires coordinated efforts from the government, enterprises, and universities. The government can introduce policies to guide universities in optimizing curriculum settings, while enterprises need to build practical training platforms. "Only by forming a closed loop of ‘training-practice-employment’ can we supply more interdisciplinary talents to the industry," Song Jing said.

Looking ahead to 2025, Song Jing believes that digital architecture is entering a critical stage of transitioning from "concept exploration" to "value realization." "As long as we dispel misconceptions, balance green and intelligent development, and solve talent problems, the industry will achieve high-quality development," she stated. Her practical experience and insights also provide a referenceable Chinese approach for the development of the global digital architecture industry.

(Written by Jessie Epstein)

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