Steven Beites

Biography

Steven Beites is a tenured Professor at the Laurentian University’s McEwen School of Architecture and Director of the Institute for Northern Housing Innovation.  Steven holds a Master of Architecture Degree from the University of Toronto, a Post Professional Degree in Architecture (M.Sc.) from the University of Michigan, and is a Ph.D. Candidate at the European Graduate School (EGS) in Switzerland. Steven’s research operates at the intersection of technology, environmental stewardship and social responsibility, deeply rooted on addressing issues of housing supply and affordability. At its core, his work aims to transform the affordable housing landscape in Northern Ontario through the integration of emergent design, robotics, material science and advanced fabrication. With emphasis placed on locally sourced bio-based materials and automated construction practices, Steven’s research not only seeks to improve the efficiency and affordability of housing but also plays a critical role in decarbonizing our built environment.

Prior to his tenure at Laurentian University, Steven has held positions at the Department of Architectural Science and School of Interior Design at the Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) as well as the School of Architecture at the University of Waterloo. His work has led to teaching invitations at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, as well as an appointment as Associate Director of TMU’s Design Fabrication Zone.

Steven is the recipient of several tri-agency funding programs including an Insight Development Grant and New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) grant supporting his novel research on emerging design-build solutions in Ontario’s North. He has authored numerous publications on this topic and his expertise in this area has garnered attention across Canada and internationally with invited speaking engagements at several prominent conferences. Steven is currently a Member of Council of Ontario Universities (COU) Modular Housing Working Group, responsible for advising the Ontario government on expanding modular housing in Ontario, as well as Member of an Expert Review Panel for Embodied Carbon Impacts for Climate Adaptation Measures led by Standards Council of Canada. Steven was also a selected researcher at the Queen’s Park Gov’t Event “Fueling the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain” presenting his work conducted on prefab, low-carbon and robotic construction processes to MPPs and Ministers across Ontario.

Steven’s success in securing significant multi-level government funding has resulted in the establishment of the Senate-approved “Institute for Northern Housing Innovation”, dedicated to addressing housing affordability, sustainability, and advanced construction technologies, where he will lead as Director.

Research and Scholarship

Academic and Professional Awards

Publications

1. Beites, S., McDonald, E., Arsenault, M. ” A Suspended Cable-Driven Parallel Robot (CDPR) and Reorientation Mechanism for the Semi-Automated Positioning of Prefab Assemblies.” Robotic Fabrication in Architecture, Art and Design 2024, Association for Robots in Architecture. Springer International Publishing, 2024.
2. Beites, S., McDonald, E., Arsenault, M. “In-situ Robotic Construction: A Technological Approach to Housing Affordability”, Proceedings of the 112th Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Annual Meeting, Vancouver, Canada. April 2024.
3. McDonald, Ethan, Marc Arsenault, and Steven Beites. “Design of a suspended cable-driven parallel robot for the semi-automation of construction tasks.”, CCToMM Mechanisms, Machines, and Mechatronics (M3) Symposium. July 2023.
4. McDonald, Ethan, Marc Arsenault, and Steven Beites. “Design of a 3-DoF Cable-Driven Parallel Robot for Automated Construction Based on Workspace and Kinematic Sensitivity.” Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics (2023): 1-25.
5. McDonald, E., Beites, S., Arsenault, M. (2022). CDPR Studio: A Parametric Design Tool for Simulating Cable-Suspended Parallel Robots. In: Gerber, D., Pantazis, E., Bogosian, B., Nahmad, A., Miltiadis, C. (eds) Computer-Aided Architectural Design. Design Imperatives: The Future is Now. CAAD Futures 2021. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1465. Springer, Singapore.
6. Beites, S., ‘Playhouse: A Pedagogical Approach to Community-Driven Design-Build Projects.’ Proceedings of the 109th Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Annual Meeting. 2021
7. Berman I, El Khafif M, Del Signore M, Beites S. (2020). Chapter 4: Data + Urban Design, Urban
   Syncopation. Del Signore M, Diniz N, Melendez F. Data, Matter, Design: Strategies in Computational Design. Routledge, 2020. 1st Edition: Chapter 4.
8. Beites, S., ‘Performative Aesthetics: An Exploration into DLT-Ceramic Composite Wall Assemblies.’, Proceedings of the 108th Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Annual Meeting, San Diego, California. 2020
9. Beites, S., ‘Droplet Pavilion.’, Proceedings of the 108th Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Annual Meeting, San Diego, California. 2020.
10. Beites, Steven. Context Through Awareness, Atmosphere 10 Fabrications Symposium, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 2018.
11. Beites, S., Berman, I., Khafif, M., Signore, M., ‘Urban Syncopation’, Proceedings of the 105th Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Annual Meeting, Detroit, Michigan, 2017, p.140-141.
12. Beites, Steven. Material-Driven Design Approach, Landscape Record 2016 No.2: Digital Fabrication, 115-117.
13. Beites, Steven. Jetee, Landscape Record 2016 No.2: Digital Fabrication, 57-59.
14. Beites, Steven. Morphological Behavior of Shape Memory Polymers Towards a Deployable, Adaptive Architecture. ACADIA 2013: Adaptive Architecture.