Architecture is becoming increasingly permeated by digital processes; there are, accordingly, repercussions for more and more aspects of designing and planning buildings. That fact has made the question whether digital processes will replace analogue processes in architecture increasingly obsolete. Observing how this is currently happening – and will continue to evolve – on the other hand, captivates our imagination, because never before in the history of architecture have architects, engineers and contractors had so many completely new technological possibilities available to them at once. As has often been the case, a transitional phase has come about in which the new technologies are primarily used as an extension of conventional practice. In parallel, novel approaches are developing which can tap the potential of the technologies – and thus also change the practice as a whole. This article will not set up an opposition between the analogue and digital realms, but will instead attempt to arrive at a differentiated understanding of what role the digital realm can play in the development of progressive design methods.