diff --git a/doc/manual/src/SUMMARY.md.in b/doc/manual/src/SUMMARY.md.in
index 6a514fa2c..019a3f1fe 100644
--- a/doc/manual/src/SUMMARY.md.in
+++ b/doc/manual/src/SUMMARY.md.in
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@
 @manpages@
   - [Files](command-ref/files.md)
     - [nix.conf](command-ref/conf-file.md)
+- [Architecture](architecture/architecture.md)
 - [Glossary](glossary.md)
 - [Contributing](contributing/contributing.md)
   - [Hacking](contributing/hacking.md)
diff --git a/doc/manual/src/architecture/architecture.md b/doc/manual/src/architecture/architecture.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2d1b26558
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/manual/src/architecture/architecture.md
@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+# Architecture
+
+This chapter describes how Nix works.
+It should help users understand why Nix behaves as it does, and it should help developers understand how to modify Nix and how to write similar tools.
+
+## Overview
+
+Nix consists of [hierarchical layers].
+
+[hierarchical layers]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multitier_architecture#Layers
+
+The following [concept map] shows its main components (rectangles), the objects they operate on (rounded rectangles), and their interactions (connecting phrases):
+
+[concept map]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept_map
+
+```
+
+   .----------------.
+   | Nix expression |----------.
+   '----------------'          |
+           |              passed to
+           |                   |
++----------|-------------------|--------------------------------+
+| Nix      |                   V                                |
+|          |      +-------------------------+                   |
+|          |      | commmand line interface |------.            |
+|          |      +-------------------------+      |            |
+|          |                   |                   |            |
+|    evaluated by            calls              manages         |
+|          |                   |                   |            |
+|          |                   V                   |            |
+|          |         +--------------------+        |            |
+|          '-------->| language evaluator |        |            |
+|                    +--------------------+        |            |
+|                              |                   |            |
+|                           produces               |            |
+|                              |                   V            |
+| +----------------------------|------------------------------+ |
+| | store                      |                              | |
+| |            referenced by   V       builds                 | |
+| | .-------------.      .------------.      .--------------. | |
+| | | build input |----->| build plan |----->| build result | | |
+| | '-------------'      '------------'      '--------------' | |
+| +-------------------------------------------------|---------+ |
++---------------------------------------------------|-----------+
+                                                    |
+                                              represented as
+                                                    |
+                                                    V
+                                            .---------------.
+                                            |     file      |
+                                            '---------------'
+```
+
+At the top is the [command line interface](../command-ref/command-ref.md) that drives the underlying layers.
+
+The [Nix language](../language/index.md) evaluator transforms Nix expressions into self-contained *build plans*, which are used to derive *build results* from referenced *build inputs*.
+
+The command line interface and Nix expressions are what users deal with most.
+
+> **Note**
+> The Nix language itself does not have a notion of *packages* or *configurations*.
+> As far as we are concerned here, the inputs and results of a build plan are just data.
+
+Underlying the command line interface and the Nix language evaluator is the [Nix store](../glossary.md#gloss-store), a mechanism to keep track of build plans, data, and references between them.
+It can also execute build plans to produce new data, which are made available to the operating system as files.
+
+A build plan itself is a series of *build tasks*, together with their build inputs.
+
+> **Important**
+> A build task in Nix is called [derivation](../glossary#gloss-derivation).
+
+Each build task has a special build input executed as *build instructions* in order to perform the build.
+The result of a build task can be input to another build task.
+
+The following [data flow diagram] shows a build plan for illustration.
+Build inputs used as instructions to a build task are marked accordingly:
+
+[data flow diagram]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data-flow_diagram
+
+```
++--------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| build plan                                                         |
+|                                                                    |
+| .-------------.                                                    |
+| | build input |---------.                                          |
+| '-------------'         |                                          |
+|                    instructions                                    |
+|                         |                                          |
+|                         v                                          |
+| .-------------.    .----------.                                    |
+| | build input |-->( build task )-------.                           |
+| '-------------'    '----------'        |                           |
+|                                  instructions                      |
+|                                        |                           |
+|                                        v                           |
+| .-------------.                  .----------.     .--------------. |
+| | build input |---------.       ( build task )--->| build result | |
+| '-------------'         |        '----------'     '--------------' |
+|                    instructions        ^                           |
+|                         |              |                           |
+|                         v              |                           |
+| .-------------.    .----------.        |                           |
+| | build input |-->( build task )-------'                           |
+| '-------------'    '----------'                                    |
+|                         ^                                          |
+|                         |                                          |
+|                         |                                          |
+| .-------------.         |                                          |
+| | build input |---------'                                          |
+| '-------------'                                                    |
+|                                                                    |
++--------------------------------------------------------------------+
+```
+