I somewhat take issue with this. (3+ decades of very hands on (read: coding) architecting, including some learning experiences in orbit. I've been coding code-doodling since teenage years.)
A lot of what non-coding architects traditionally brought to the table has been taken over by experts designing OSS protocols, data formats, etc. Take things like data frames that are now exploding in ML space. Seniors today, agreed, should be able to integrate (sub)systems and that may in fact be enough. But a competent systems architect (who have never touched code) should be able to also define data formats, patterns of movement of data between sub-systems (for say optimal performance), the actual computing platform considerations, etc. Also, sometimes when being too close to code, things degenerate to debates about tools, etc.
Naturally my points here gain more validity as system size (or its open-ness requirements) increase.
I always thought that non-coding architects still had at least some background in coding. What does the path of a never-had-coded architect looks like?
Possibly effective doodling in the design space of systems? I personally hacked at untold number of experiments with different approaches, and was doodling like mad over at least a decade. I have bookshelves full of notebooks covered with object graphs, system sketches, etc. It's not just coding.
A lot of what non-coding architects traditionally brought to the table has been taken over by experts designing OSS protocols, data formats, etc. Take things like data frames that are now exploding in ML space. Seniors today, agreed, should be able to integrate (sub)systems and that may in fact be enough. But a competent systems architect (who have never touched code) should be able to also define data formats, patterns of movement of data between sub-systems (for say optimal performance), the actual computing platform considerations, etc. Also, sometimes when being too close to code, things degenerate to debates about tools, etc.
Naturally my points here gain more validity as system size (or its open-ness requirements) increase.