Identity, Diplomacy and Design
A Study of Canada’s Embassies in the Age of Reconciliation
By David Fortin
Riverside Architectural Press
What is the future of diplomacy for Canada in the Age of Reconciliation? What is Canada's identity abroad as a colonial nation state? This booklet is a summary of an undergraduate design studio at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture in collaboration with Global Affairs Canada during the Fall of 2022 that asked these questions. Conceived as a pilot studio to examine pressing questions surrounding the relationship between Canadian international diplomacy and design, the studio traveled to Ottawa and Mexico City to reflect on some of the challenges and opportunities facing designers in a rapidly changing world.
David Fortin is a member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (MRAIC), a LEED accredited professional, and a registered architect in the provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta. 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. David was the inaugural Associate Director of the Maamwizing Indigenous Research Institute and the Director of the McEwen School of Architecture from 2018-2021. He is a citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario and member of the RAIC Indigenous Task Force that 'seeks ways to foster and promote indigenous design in Canada'.
