Born and raised throughout Alberta and Saskatchewan, David 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, Alberta and Manitoba. He previously worked on various commercial and residential projects throughout Western Canada with firms such as GEC Architecture and McKinley Burkart Architects in Calgary, as well a number of projects as a private practitioner. Since 2005, he has taught architecture in the UK, USA, and Canada, leading undergraduate and graduate courses in architectural design, history and theory, as well as design studios working with First Nations communities and developing an introductory building science course on designing for climate change. He has taught design-build studios using straw bale construction with the Northern Cheyenne in Montana and in rural Kenya, and in 2017 led a graduate design studio working with Batchewana First Nation where students designed a conceptual vision for a 50,000 square-foot Health and Social Hub. David has also taught architectural history from the Renaissance through to the Early Modern period.
David 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. He is the first Indigenous person to direct a school of architecture in Canada, and was co-curator, with Gerald McMaster, of UNCEDED: Voices of the Land, Canada’s official entry to the Venice Biennale in 2018 (presented by Douglas Cardinal). He is currently coordinating a project with the National Research Council of Canada, and partnering with various Indigenous architects, to work alongside remote northern communities to develop their own approach to housing that serves their needs and desires. This project, titled “A Path to Healthy Housing” will be completed in 2021.
David has served as a mentor for the Indigenous Homes Innovation Initiative led by Indigenous Services Canada and is working with three communities on design as part of that initiative. He also acted as Design Architect (with Edwards Edwards McEwen Architects) for a 9000 square-foot addition and renovation project for Gabriel Dumont Institute in Saskatoon, where he was invited to combine his design and research expertise to offer a vision for a unique contemporary Métis urban architectural expression. David’s multi-year research project into Red River Métis contributions to architectural thinking was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and has emerged as central to evolving discussions about Métis architecture, both historically and in contemporary terms (www.metisarchitect.com).