David T Fortin
Biography
David Fortin is a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (FRAIC), a LEED accredited professional, and a registered architect in the provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. He completed his doctoral studies at the University of Edinburgh in 2009 and has since taught undergraduate and graduate courses in architectural design, history and theory, in the UK, USA, and Canada. At the McEwen School of Architecture, he developed and taught an introductory building science course emphasizing the impact of climate change on architectural thinking and maintains research interests in speculative thinking in design. At Laurentian University, David was the inaugural Associate Director of the Maamwizing Indigenous Research Institute and the Director of the McEwen School of Architecture from 2018-2021. Born in Calgary and raised throughout Alberta and Saskatchewan, he is a Red River Métis and citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario as well as a founding member of the RAIC Indigenous Task Force that 'seeks ways to foster and promote Indigenous design in Canada'.
From 2019-2021, David co-edited an issue of Scapegoat Journal with Associate Professor Adrian Blackwell (University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ) focusing on the delineation of land through notions of property, with particular emphasis on colonial frameworks in this process. He has advised Indigenous Services Canada on the Indigenous Homes Innovation Initiative, been a jury member for Block 2 of the Canadian Parliamentary Precinct Competition, the AZ Awards and the Governor General Awards, as well as a member of the design review panel for the Alexandra Bridge Replacement in Ottawa/Gatineau. He has worked with multiple Métis and First Nations communities across Canada through community-led design processes, both professionally and academically. In 2018, David was co-curator of UNCEDED: Voices of the Land, Canada’s official representation at the Venice Biennale, and in 2023 again co-curated Canada'a official representation at the Biennale as part of the Architects Against Housing Alienation (AAHA) collaborative and their project "Not for Sale!". In 2024, David was named an Emerging Voice by the Architectural League of New York and in 2025 was named a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Critical Relationalism and Design.
From 2019-2021, David co-edited an issue of Scapegoat Journal with Associate Professor Adrian Blackwell (University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ) focusing on the delineation of land through notions of property, with particular emphasis on colonial frameworks in this process. He has advised Indigenous Services Canada on the Indigenous Homes Innovation Initiative, been a jury member for Block 2 of the Canadian Parliamentary Precinct Competition, the AZ Awards and the Governor General Awards, as well as a member of the design review panel for the Alexandra Bridge Replacement in Ottawa/Gatineau. He has worked with multiple Métis and First Nations communities across Canada through community-led design processes, both professionally and academically. In 2018, David was co-curator of UNCEDED: Voices of the Land, Canada’s official representation at the Venice Biennale, and in 2023 again co-curated Canada'a official representation at the Biennale as part of the Architects Against Housing Alienation (AAHA) collaborative and their project "Not for Sale!". In 2024, David was named an Emerging Voice by the Architectural League of New York and in 2025 was named a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Critical Relationalism and Design.
Teaching*
- ARCH 392 - Design Studio
- Taught in 2023, 2024, 2025
- ARCH 393 - Option Design Studio
- Taught in 2022, 2023, 2024
* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.
In The News
Graduate studies
- Not currently accepting applications for graduate students