Two good articles below that explore what an architect really means in the world of software development.  In particular the last one is excellent in analyzing the origins of the term architect and applying that to the world of software development.  My feelings on the role of architect mirror much of what is said in the second article.  I think an architect role is garnered by experience and that an architect is to be a leader.  A true leader needs to be able to get in the trenches and deliver working code as well as be in the room with the customer mapping customer requirements into actionable development tasks.

http://www.agilearchitect.org/agile/role.htm

http://codebetter.com/blogs/ian_cooper/archive/2008/01/02/architects-back-to-the-future.aspx