Incomplete by Design: Navigating Co-Authorship Between Architects and AI

Yorgos Berdos; Theodore Dounas

doi:10.1007/978-981-95-0760-3_4

Incomplete by Design: Navigating Co-Authorship Between Architects and AI

Yorgos Berdos (Lead / Corresponding author)
, Theodore Dounas

Architecture and Urban Planning

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

Abstract

This chapter proposes a redefinition of architectural authorship through the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and the Fungible versus Non-Fungible (FnF) framework. Moving beyond the binary of AI as either a tool or replacement, it explores a model of co-authorship in which architects, AI agents, and communities collaborate within structured governance systems. The FnF framework distinguishes between immutable design components, controlled by architects and adaptable ones open to participatory or AI-led modification. Blockchain supports this by recording authorship, enforcing smart contracts, and enabling decentralised decision-making. Through a speculative case study and participant-led design experiments, the chapter demonstrates how tokenised authorship, participatory feedback, and AI-driven processes can support a continuously negotiated and transparent design methodology. Architecture, in this paradigm, is not a static artefact but an evolving system, open, accountable, and incomplete by design.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Architecture in the AI Era for Research, Practice, and Pedagogy
Editors	Asterios Agkathidis, Carlos Medel-Vera, Markus Hudert
Place of Publication	Singapore
Publisher	Springer
Pages	31-47
Number of pages	17
ISBN (Electronic)	9789819507603
ISBN (Print)	9789819507597
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-95-0760-3_4
Publication status	Published - 1 Feb 2026

Publication series

Name	SpringerBriefs in Architectural Design and Technology
ISSN (Print)	2199-580X
ISSN (Electronic)	2199-5818

Keywords

Architectural authorship
Blockchain
Co-authorship
FnF framework
Participatory design

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Architecture
Building and Construction
Modelling and Simulation
Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design

Access to Document

10.1007/978-981-95-0760-3_4

Cite this

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Incomplete by Design: Navigating Co-Authorship Between Architects and AI. / Berdos, Yorgos (Lead / Corresponding author); Dounas, Theodore.
Architecture in the AI Era for Research, Practice, and Pedagogy. ed. / Asterios Agkathidis; Carlos Medel-Vera; Markus Hudert. Singapore: Springer, 2026. p. 31-47 (SpringerBriefs in Architectural Design and Technology).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

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Incomplete by Design: Navigating Co-Authorship Between Architects and AI

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Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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