The built environment (BE) is currently undergoing a digital transformation from traditional to digital, affecting among others, architecture. Departing from the implicit assumption of digital technologies (DTs) for economic growth, productivity and performance, we instead focus on employees’ experiences of digital transformation and their well-being. DTs such as building information modelling (BIM) are used by architects at the front end of the project life cycle. As opposed to most past studies on well-being of blue-collar workers, we focus on white-collar workers. Architecture has a traditionally low job satisfaction and high prevalence of stressors that negatively impact well-being, and DTs could potentially affect job satisfaction in terms of creativity, autonomy, time pressure, menial tasks, career prospects, organisational commitment and potential. This chapter builds upon literature review and pilot interviews with healthcare architects/designers who were at the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic with NHS architects, creating new wards and vaccination centres, while private healthcare architects designed new hospitals. Although healthcare architects were in their busiest year, the DTs available to them could only support limited tasks and did not link well to asset operation. We explore how DTs transform the well-being of architects. Understanding well-being in architecture in light of digital transformation is crucial for creating the necessary leadership for the sector to grow.@en

Introduction: UK Built Environment is currently undergoing a digital transformation, as is happening in the National Health Service (NHS) of England. In this paper, the focus was on the intersection of the two sectors and specifically the potential digital transformation of the NHS Estate. The NHS has developed a strategy for its workforce, to improve staff health and wellbeing, and support equality, diversity, inclusion and the development of existing staff. Digital technologies (DTs) can relate to all Estates and Facilities Management priorities, as it cross-cuts all proposed actions. As opposed to most studies on the wellbeing of blue-collar workers, this article focuses on white-collar workers, specifically architects working in the NHS, especially since NHS at this stage is developing two important policies: the New Hospital Programme and the Workforce Action Plan. Therefore, it is important for the NHS to look at the digital transformation strategy in the prism of the other two. As architecture traditionally has low job satisfaction, it negatively impacts wellbeing. This study argues that this might have been accentuated during the pandemic for the architects working in the NHS and dealing with the added pressure from three new major tasks: adjusting the infrastructure capacity to fight Covid-19; and creating the infrastructure for the testing and vaccination programs. DTs in architecture potentially affect job satisfaction in terms of creativity, autonomy, time pressure, organisational commitment, and so on. Methodology: The methodology comprises a literature review and a pilot of interviews with healthcare architects/designers working in the NHS or on NHS-related projects. The research context is informed by the COVID-19 crisis that brought healthcare architecture to the frontline of the pandemic, with NHS architects creating new wards and vaccination centers, while private healthcare architects designed new hospitals. Results: In the niche area of healthcare architecture, architects were in their busiest year. Yet, the DTs available to them then could only support limited tasks and did not link well to operational data. Discussion: To explore how DTs transform the wellbeing of healthcare architects, understanding wellbeing in healthcare architecture in light of digital transformation is crucial for creating the necessary leadership for the sector to grow.

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