The Center for Offsite Construction (CfOC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Steve DeWitt as a Senior Research Fellow for the 2025–2026 academic year. A practitioner at the forefront of rules-based design and building configurators, Steve brings rare depth in translating theoretical frameworks into working software systems that connect design intent directly to manufacturing logic. His fellowship will advance the CfOC’s research agenda at the intersection of Configure-to-Order (CTO) delivery, design automation, and open digital infrastructure for offsite construction.

Steve is the owner of Custom Building Configurators, where he focuses on developing intelligent, rules-driven tools that enable teams to move from early-stage design to productized building systems with speed and precision. His work is grounded in the practical realities of AEC and industrialized construction workflows (i.e. automating quantity takeoffs, embedding firm-specific design logic, generating reliable configure–price–quote outputs, and supporting complex order models). Across these efforts, Steve’s core contribution has been to make rules explicit, computable, and reusable—turning tacit expertise into durable digital assets.

At the CfOC, Steve’s fellowship will lead with this applied orientation. He will contribute directly to the Center’s Configurator File Type initiative, including ongoing work on the Rule Layer that enables software tools to interpret and apply product constraints without bespoke human intervention. Steve is already a co-author of the CfOC’s (draft) Configurator File Type whitepaper ("Designing the Rule Layer"), and his continued involvement will help shape open-source requirements, rule schemas, and reference workflows that allow configurators to interoperate across tools, firms, and products. This work is foundational to the CfOC’s broader vision of a scalable CTO marketplace—one in which offsite products can be reliably configured, exchanged, and assembled within clearly defined bounds.

Following this lead emphasis on rules-in-practice, Steve’s fellowship will foster a second, equally important dimension: bridging BIM/VDC environments with productized systems and manufacturing workflows. Over the past decade, Steve has worked across a range of roles that collectively span this divide, from BIM Manager at Project Frog, to design innovation and automation work at Factory_OS, to product leadership roles at Modutecture Technologies and other construction-technology firms. In each context, he has focused on aligning digital models with downstream fabrication and assembly, ensuring that design decisions remain consistent, computable, and manufacturable.

This dual focus positions Steve to make a distinctive contribution to the CfOC’s research roadmap. His work will inform how configurators evolve from firm-specific tools into shared infrastructure, and how open rule definitions can reduce friction between designers, manufacturers, and builders without reverting to bespoke coordination. Importantly, Steve’s role as a Senior Research Fellow is research-focused: his contributions will concentrate on applied inquiry, prototyping, and authorship, rather than teaching or studio engagement.

At the core of Steve’s work is a belief that configurators are not merely productivity tools, but critical infrastructure for a new mode of building. By encoding rules explicitly, they create the conditions for scale, interoperability, and trust across the offsite ecosystem. Through his fellowship, Steve will help the CfOC test, refine, and publish these ideas in forms that others can adopt and extend.

We are pleased to welcome Steve DeWitt as a Senior Research Fellow for the 2025–2026 year.